Lema's mother followed Orren's stretcher into the awnings carrying the shoe he had lost. At the first treatment bench she put it beneath him, where nobody could mistake it for a donation.
"His hip was hurt before the gun hit us," Lema told the healer. "He fell off our flour bench when Tavra shut her plate. He was lying on his side when we picked him up."
The healer pushed a curtain aside with her elbow. Behind it, two men were holding a woman's leg while a third cut through a boot. Lema recognized one of the men from the quay. He still had a rope burn across his neck.
"I have one pair of hands free. Bring him here, and leave someone who can tell me when he stops answering."
Orren lifted his head off the board.
"You can ask me before you ask them. My hip hurts; my ears work well enough."
"Then keep telling me where it hurts while I look at your back. You can complain about the bench afterward."
