I thought of the kinship that I had shared with horses and dogs when I knew Burrich was not around. I remembered Nosy, in a mingling of warmth and grief. I had never been so close, before or since, to another living creature. Would this new training in the Skill take that away from me? “What’s the matter, boy?” Chade’s voice was kindly, but concerned. “I don’t know.” I hesitated. But not even to Chade could I dare to reveal my fear. Or my taint. “Nothing,
