Chapter 12: Drakonis and Aliyah

After half an hour, Salvatore Casson ached all over and had to stop. He saw an old man wading out of the river onto the bank, cloth shoes dangling from his hand. The man's hair was silver, his face ruddy, seventy-something by the look of him. The old man spotted Salvatore from afar and smiled. "Kid, were you holding a stance just now?" Salvatore made a noncommittal sound. He didn't want anyone seeing his stance work, so he turned to leave. In passing, a faint black line on the man's left forearm...