Porter was certain he would avoid attempting that sort of riding adventure.His butt hurt and his thighs were rubbed raw. He was a rank amateur in the ...orld of stinky riding beasts, but he did not complain among the squad who had ridden these animals for years. In an attempt to ignore the pain, Porter tried to keep his mind busy. He knew how many arrows were in each person’s quiver; he studied the various forms of stitchery used to close holes and tears, and he even considered extrapolating the. He spit out some moreblood and three more teeth. His left arm hung limply at his side."You're not supposed to be this strong. I wouldn't have taken this jobif I knew you were this strong!" He tried to hit me."Rolling shield," I calmly said, and an energy shield appeared aroundme, trapping his hand. I squeezed with the shield as he writhed in pain,screaming in pure agony. His right hand was only a couple of pounds ofpressure more from being completely severed from him."Stop right there."I looked. "Who are you and what have you done with Ashley Fine?"We had engaged in banter before, but this was a genuinely friendly exchange. I was drawn to her.I had been doing that a lot lately: Sunny, Sandy, Harri, Sam. Was I just trying to score a friend other than Sunny, or was this a real connection?I had been doing a lot of that lately, too: questioning why I did things.I never used to do that before. What did it matter why as long as I got what I wanted? Now that wasn't enough.We walked to. I'll be counting the minutes!" Fab." Terry backed away slowly, a smile frozen on his face as hefumbled behind him for the doorknob. As he opened the door and slippedoutside, he called, "'Kay! Toodles!" before closing the door shut. Hepaused for a moment on the front steps trying to process what justhappened when a warm breeze came along and fluttered his skirts andpetticoats around his silky hairless thighs. He looked down at himself,his chestnut hair framing his vision as he stared down at the.