On the evening of the sixth day Blade knew that it was time to speak to Valli. She had been ohhing and ahhing about his rate of growth and he sensed an uneasiness, a fear, in her. His foster mother, in short, was beginning to suspect that something was very wrong.

It was dark when she came to the pavilion. The gardens were bright with hanging lanterns. She put her can of milk on a table and came to the closet where Blade lay in his swaddle of rugs. As she lifted him and carried him into an anteroom she said, «What a little giant you are becoming, my sweet. So heavy. Surely there was never a baby like you before in all the world. I am beginning to think that Stel was right and that you are a monster-child-«

«Stel was wrong,» said Blade. «I am not a monster, Valli. I am a full-grown man caught in a baby's body. You must not be frightened and-«

He might have expected it. Valli fainted dead away. She dropped him and Blade had to twist in midair to land on his hands and feet. He swore mightily and, mindful of his hunger, drank the milk down before he filled the can with water and splashed it into Valli's face. He knelt beside her and chafed her wrists and patted her cheeks and hoped for the best. If she lost her wits and ran screaming into the night he was going to be in a lot of trouble. He could not yet fend for himself. He needed Valli as much as ever.

There was one dim light in the anteroom. Valli's eyes fluttered open, black and luminous and huge, and she stared at the baby Blade. He smiled. She continued to stare. «I–I had a dream, a nightmare, I know not. But I thought you spoke to me, child. I thought you spoke with the voice of a man.»

Blade patted her hand. «I did. I am a man, Valli. Do not be afraid of me. I will never harm you. Just listen and try to understand.»