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Turbulent dreaes, dreams of home, of death Odd bits of nonsense that spooled out in flickers of consciousness, swimmy and unreliable, inventions ofdust intoi would be okay, they’re friends, we’re safe Then deep and dreamless dark for unknown hours

The next ti and I knew it I was tucked into a bed in a sht spilled from behind a dra shade So, daytiown, not rit Soh I was bone-tired, I felt little pain My shoulder had stopped aching, and so hadup I had to stop halfway and rest on ht table by the bedside In one corner of the roo wooden wardrobe In the other--I blinked and rubbedin a chair My ishly that I wasn’t even startled; I , in fact, that I struggled briefly to understand what I was seeing He seemed a man composed of halves: half his hair was slicked dohile the other half was cowlicked all over the place; half his face was scraggly beard and the other half clean-shaven Even his clothes (pants, rumpled sweater, ruffled Elizabethan collar) were half modern, half archaic

"Hello?" I said uncertainly

Theso badly that he fell out of his chair and landed on the floor in a clatter "Oh, oodness!" He climbed back into the chair, eyes wide and hands aflutter "You’re awake!"

"Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you …"

"Ah, no, it was htening his ruffled collar "Please don’t tell anyone I fell asleep watching you!"

"Who are you?" I asked "Where a fast, and as it did it filled with questions "And where’s Emma?"

"Right, yes!" the ht not be the best-equipped member of the household to answer … questions …"

He whispered the word, eyebrows raised, as if questions were forbidden "But!" He pointed at me "You’re Jacob" He pointed at hi motion with his hand "And this is Mr Benthaer to meet you In fact, I’m to notify him as soon as you’re awake"

I squirht, the effort of which nearly exhausted me "I don’t care about any of that I want to see Emma"

"Of course! Your friend …"

He flapped his hands like little wings while his eyes darted froht find Emma in a corner of the room

"I want to see her Now!"

"My name’s Nim!" he squeaked "And I’m to notify--yes, under strict instructions …"

A panicky thought flew into my head--that Sharon, mercenary that he was, had rescued us froed to shout "WHERE ARE YOU?"