Part 15 (2/2)

He walked to the edge of the building and peered into the alley.

Her white hair loose, Alter stood looking up at the roof. ”All right, Tel,” she called. ”You next.”

Something came down from the roof, flipped over on the ground at her feet, rolled away, and then suddenly unwound to standing position. The black-haired boy ran his fingers through his hair. ”Wow,” he said. Then he shook his head. ”Wow.”

”Are you all right?” Alter asked. ”You didn't pull anything, did you?”

”No,” he said. ”I'm all right. I think. Yeah, everything's in place.” He looked up at the roof again, two stories above.

”Your turn, Let,” Alter called up.

”It's high,” came a childish voice from the roof.

”Hurry up,” said Alter, her voice becoming authoritative. ”When I count three. And remember, knees up, chin down, and roll quick. One, two, three!” There was the s.p.a.ce of a breath, and then it fell, rolled, bounced unsteadily to its feet, and resolved into another boy, this one blond, and slighter than the first.

”Hey, you kids,” Jon said.

They turned.

Jon looked at the smaller boy. His slight blond frame, less substantial then even Alter's white-haired loveliness was definitely of the royal family. ”What are you doing out here, anyway?” Jon asked. ”Especially you, your Highness.”

All three children jumped.

It looked like they might balk, and after that descent from the roof, he wasn't sure where they might balk to. So he said, ”Incidentally, the d.u.c.h.ess of Petra sent me. How did you do that fall?”

His Highness was the only one to relax appreciably.

”And are you sure you're supposed to be outside?”

”We were supposed to stay on the top floor,” Tel said. ”But him,” he pointed to his ragged Highness, ”he got restless, and we started telling him about the tricks, and so we went up to the roof, and Alter said she could get us down.”

”Can you get them back up?” Jon asked.

”Sure,” said Alter, ”all we do is climb ...”

Jon held up his hand. ”Wait a minute,” he said. ”We'll go inside and talk to the man in charge. Don't worry. No one'll be mad.”

”You mean talk to Geryn?” said Alter.

”I guess that's what his name is.”

They started back out of the alley. ”Tell me,” Jon said, ”just what sort of person is Geryn?”

”He's a strange old man. He talks to himself all the time,” said Alter.

”But he's smart.”

Talks to himself, Jon reflected, and nodded. When they reached the door of the inn, Jon pulled his cape off and stepped into the light. A few people at the bar turned around, and when they saw the children, they looked askance at one another.

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