@@@@@ Jeb laughed when I emerged; his eyes were
@@@@@
Jeb laughed when I emerged; his eyes were on the soap in my cautious grasp
“Smarts a bit, don't it? We're trying to fix that He held out his hand, protected by the tail of
his shirt, and I placed the soap in it
I didn't answer his question because we weren't alone; there was a line waiting silently behind
him–five people, all of them from the field turning
Ian was first in line
“You look better,” he told me, but I couldn't tell from his tone if he was surprised or annoyed
that I did
He raised one arm, extending his long, pale fingers toward my neckI flinched away, and he
dropped his hand quickly
“Sorry about that,” he muttered
Did he mean for scaring me now or for marking up my neck in the first place? I couldn't
imagine that he was apologizing for trying to kill meSurely he still wanted me deadBut I
wasn't going to askI started walking, and Jeb fell into step behind me
“So, today wasn't that bad,” Jeb said as we walked through the dark corridor
“Not that bad,” I murmuredAfter all, I hadn't been murderedThat was always a plus
“Tomorrow will be even better,” he promised“I always enjoy planting–seeing the miracle of
the little dead-looking seeds having so much life in themMakes me feel like a withered old guy
might have some potential left in himEven if it's only to be fertilizer Jeb laughed at his joke
When we got to the big garden cavern, Jeb took my elbow and steered me east rather than
west
“Don't try to tell me you're not hungry after all that digging,” he said“It's not my job to
provide room ser