"Forget it. You and he are running from the same thing — I thought you might want to help him out a little. And he looked like he needed all the help he could get. Do a good job."

"I don't need you to tell me that," she said sharply, showing her annoyance at his remark. Of course she would take good care of the tortured beast.

He barked a short laugh and strolled to his wagon. With a single, smooth motion, he bent, grasped the two handles, and started off into the woods, trailing the wagon behind him. A few shards of broken pottery rattled in the back; the left wheel squeaked on its axle.

She watched until the thicket swallowed him, then returned to her work with a scowl. Tlad had risen in her estimation today by his show of compassion for the poor beast unconscious before her, but she still did not like him. She couldn't pin it down, but something about that man caused her to mistrust him.

Still, in a way she wished he had stayed longer. At least he was someone to talk to.

She went back into the hut to get some clean rags to bind the tery's deeper wounds, and when she returned, she saw her father approaching across the clearing.

"That thing still alive?" Komak said when he reached her side and stood surveying the bulk of the tery.

Her father was a man huge in height, girth, and spirit. He had clear, pale blue eyes and shaggy red hair and beard that encircled his head like a mane; his skin was the type that never seemed to tan, remaining ever red from the sun despite the fact that he spent all of his time outdoors these days. Adriel shared his coloring in hair, skin, and eyes, but was shorter and had a smaller frame.

"Of course he's still alive. And I'll keep him that way."

Didn't anyone have any confidence in her?

Komak lifted the unconscious creature's upper lip to expose its sharp teeth.

"So this is Tlad's tery. Ugly brute."