The Shape-Changer's Wife by Sharon Shinn Read Free Book Online

would,” she said.
    Aubrey ignored that. He laid his hand on Orion’s belly, and the big man instantly drew his knees up and emitted an unpleasant grunt. “Well, I’m a passable healer, but he doesn’t respond to any of the simple spells,” he said at last, straightening. “So either he’s pretending, or he’s got something worse than my routine magic will cure.”
    Lilith’s eyes sharpened with a certain interest. “You mean, he might die?” she said. She sounded as if the prospect pleased her. Aubrey was surprised; he had not thought she disliked the servants with whom she shared her house.
    â€œI didn’t say that. Probably he is just pretending.”
    â€œThat’s what I said from the very beginning.”
    â€œBut we can’t send him to the village in this state. Let us go instead, you and I.”
    â€œTo the village?” she repeated, as if he had proposed walking to the next kingdom. “Why?”
    â€œFor food. And because I am bored. And because I am convinced a change of scenery would do you good.”
    â€œA walk to the village would not do me much good.”
    â€œAre you afraid to go?”
    â€œNot at all. I will if you want me to.”
    â€œThen let us go.”
    So they walked down, and it was Aubrey’s first time back in sunlight since the day he had left to find Glyrenden’s house. At first, it was like the morning he had awakened after Glyrenden left: Everything looked strange to him. The farmers in their market best, the peasants in their much-mended smocks, the pretty girls in their colorful dresses, even the dogs and the horses and the well-built houses looked out of place and exotic. He had been too long with odd people in an odd house, he knew that was it; yet it had been barely a month since he had been alone among the folk of this village. They should not have appeared so distorted to him.
    He and Lilith strolled through the marketplace like any burgher and his wife, she with a basket over her arm and he with the money Arachne usually counted out to Orion. Lilith was not much of a shopper, for she had no idea what they needed or how much things should cost, but she seemed to get a mild pleasure from hefting the ripe squash and sniffing at the shrunken cantaloupe. Aubrey picked the bread, and the herbs, and the wine and the salt. Lilith bought a bunch of flowers with the handful of change he gave her, and clipped the small purple blossoms into the braid over her right ear. They gave her a girlish, flirtatious demeanor he had never seen before.
    They had just left a small, gaily striped stall where Lilith had considered, then rejected, a large watermelon, when Aubrey looked back to check on some slight disturbance behind them. The small, dirty woman who had watched them buy nothing had thrown the melon violently to the hard earth at her feet, and was in the process of stomping its sweet ruby fruit into pulp against the dirt. She looked up angrily to catch Aubrey’s astonished gaze, and glared back at him remorselessly.
    â€œSpoiled!” she called at him, shaking her fist. “Spoiled it, she did!”
    Aubrey took a step toward her, almost too shocked to know what he was doing. “My good woman—” he began, but Lilith tugged on his arm and pulled him up short.
    â€œLeave it,” she murmured.
    â€œSpoiled it, she did!” the woman was shouting now. “Naught else to do with a good piece of fruit than to throw it away, once such as that has put her hand to it. Rotten clear through, it would be!”
    Aubrey shook off Lilith’s hand and came closer to the woman, feeling his own anger stir. “How dare you say such a thing about a respectable woman?” he said sternly. “We pay you with proper money for proper goods and you should—”
    â€œRespectable!” she screeched back at him. By this time, they had drawn the attention of most of the other