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Ri swallowed.

“We could find a way to make you.”

There was perspiration trickling down Ri’s forehead, a single drop, creeping toward his nose.

“You’ll be safe,” Extrone said, studying his face with amusement. “I’ll shoot the animal before it reaches you.”

Ri gulped for air. “But ... if there should be more than one?”

Extrone shrugged.

“I—Look, sir. Listen to me.” Ri’s lips were bloodless and his hands were trembling. “It’s not me you want to do this to. It’s Mia, sir. He killed a farn beast before I did, sir. And last night—last night, he—”

“He what?” Extrone demanded, leaning forward intently.

Ri breathed with a gurgling sound. “He said he ought to kill you, sir. That’s what he said. I heard him, sir. He said he ought to kill you. He’s the one you ought to use for bait. Then if there was an accident, sir, it wouldn’t matter, because he said he ought to kill you. I wouldn’t....”

Extrone said, “Which one is he?”

“That one. Right over there.”

“The one with his back to me?”

“Yes, sir. That’s him. That’s him, sir.”