Eva received a different sort of attention.
A woman sorting bundles outside a doorway stopped when she saw her, her fingers remaining motionless around a length of cord.
Farther along, an elderly man scowled and turned his back, while a boy standing beside a stall stared until the woman behind him pulled him out of sight.
Eva kept close to Elion, looking down at the street.
'What did you do to make them treat you like this?' he wondered, though he doubted asking her in front of the guards would accomplish much.
Her presence was like a plague to all those who saw her.
They passed beneath a broad stone arch and entered a quieter district, where the houses stood farther apart.
Several had been built against the remains of ancient structures, their modest walls occupying spaces between columns large enough to support an entire palace.
Here, the cavern's spectral light fell across little courtyards and narrow stairways, illuminating pots of pale flowers beside the doors.
