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an had fallen still, though his hand still gripped as tight as ever. He was lying
there letting Will batter at him with knees and head; and as soon as Will saw that, the last of his
strength left him, and he fell helpless beside his opponent, every nerve in his body ringing and
dizzy and throbbing.
Will hauled himself up painfully, peered through the deep darkness, and made out a blur of white
on the ground beside the man. It was the white breast and head of a great bird, an osprey, a
daemon, and it was lying still. Will tried to pull away,Puma Ferrari shoes, and his feeble tug woke a response from the
man, whose hand hadn't loosened.
But he was moving. He was feeling Will's right hand carefully with his free one. Will's hair stood on
end.
Then the man said, "Give me your other hand."
"Be careful," said Will.
The man's free hand felt down Will's left arm, and his fingertips moved gently over the wrist and
on to the swollen palm and with the utmost delicacy on to the stumps of Will's two lost fingers.
His other hand let go at once, and he sat up.
"You've got the knife,Puma Tour Cat," he said. "You're the knife bearer."
His voice was resonant, harsh,MBT Wave, but breathless. Will sensed that he was badly hurt. Had he
wounded this dark opponent?
Will was still lying on the stones, utterly spent. All he could see was the man's shape, crouching
above him, but he couldn't see his face. The man was reaching sideways for something, and after
a few moments a marvelous soothing coolness spread into his hand from the stumps of his fingers
as the man massaged a salve into his skin.
"What are you doing?" Will said.
"Curing your wound. Keep still.��
"Who are you?"
"I'm the only man who knows what the knife is for. Hold your hand up like that. Don't move."
The wind was beating more wildly than ever, and a drop or two of rain splashed onto Will's face.
ONE
He was trembling violently, but he propped up his left hand with his right while the man spread
more ointment over the stumps and wound a strip of linen tightly around the hand.