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He let go. I got the slab up far enough for him to drag himself sideways, then shoved it aside.

He screamed when his leg came free.

There was an ugly bend below his knee. He reached for it, then stopped with his hands hovering over his shin.

“What were you doing out here?”

He squeezed his eyes shut and breathed through his teeth. I waited, but he couldn’t seem to get a word out.

I wanted this man somewhere he could answer a few questions.

I crouched beside him and got him into my arms, supporting his leg as best I could. He cried out and grabbed my shirt.

“Hold on. I’ll get you out.”

He kept his fist clenched in the fabric while I carried him back along the rock. The goat was still on its high shelf when I passed. I looked for the other one, but there was no sign of it, and I couldn’t put the man down to go searching.

The current still gave me trouble at the entrance. I called for Drev and felt the rope tighten, then worked my way out with the man’s head against my shoulder. He’d stopped making any sound. By the time I reached the shallows, his grip on my shirt had loosened and he’d passed out.

Drev came down far enough to help me get him onto the bank. We laid him on the grass, and I checked that he was breathing.

I was still getting to my feet when Teresa threw her arms around me.

I reached for her, but she pulled away almost at once.

“I’m sorry. You were gone for so long that I thought…”

I wanted her to do that again. She was still looking at me, close enough that I could have pulled her back, and it took me a moment to notice Drev.

“Who’s that?”

“Trouble. Go get the truck. This guy needs medical care. I think his leg’s broken. You need to take him to Otho.”

“And what about you?”

“I’m cleaning up.” I turned to Teresa. “You are welcome to use our showers. The water is warm.”

She looked at the unconscious man, then down at her filthy clothes. “I could use a shower.”

11

TERESA

The truck huffed down the road as Drev took the injured and very wet human man into town where hopefully Otho could tend to him. We’d had to dump the dead goat to make space for him in the back, and I’d rigged up a splint as best as I could to stabilize his leg for the sure-to-be-bumpy ride back to town.

At least it would be quick.

I should have gone with him, but the muck was starting to dry on my skin and I worried I might make things worse and cause an infection.

And Rauf was staying at the farm.

Drev could handle one human man. I had no idea why that guy was on the planet, and he couldn’t be up to any good.

I heard Goataro bleating happily as Rauf led me past the barn and into the main house.

Nakhil and a couple of the other Butchers were just inside the door. They looked from Rauf to me as we passed, and I suddenly wished I’d taken a minute to wipe the mud off my face.

Rauf didn’t say a word to them. I followed his example, although I was sure they were still watching us when we turned down the hall.