"Who cares!" Tol hugged his girlfriend.

They started kissing with such passion that everyone shrieked in delight and applauded.

Vil didn"t want to stay alone, he followed the others. He chose a girl and started dancing, too.

Nikto and Dony came out of their room. Seeing the complete chaos at "Backara" they laughed and came downstairs to their friends.

Nikto looked much better than a few days ago. The scarred half of his face was always hidden behind the black mask, the other half was fully healed. He didn"t even paint his face shocking the audience with the tattoos of the Unclean. Instead of his usual nose ring he inserted quite a heavy decoration with a chain into his nostril. The chain went over the mask and ended with a ring in Nikto"s ear. There were two rings in his lower lip – a sign of half-bloods.

Clients of "Backara" and its staff looked at him in an unconcealed horror.

"I want to dance, too," Dony said, "but I think I can"t. Where is Mily?" she started asking everyone.

Everyone smiled, hugged her, kissed, congratulated but no one knew where Mily was. At last she met Lis.

"Where is Mily?" she asked.

"I think she"s gone to the loo," he said, "and Squint-Eye helps her find the way." Lis laughed.

"Oh shit," Dony said. "All right, thank you."

"Not at all," Lis started petting his girlfriend again.

Nikto sat down at the table and poured a drink. Dony was stuck in a crowd of her acquaintances. Squint-Eye came back to the table, sat down on the opposite side from Nikto. Nikto looked at him.

"Didn"t you guard Mily at the loo?" he smiled.

"Yes," Squint-Eye said. "A year and a half in prison cost me dearly. I guarded her too quickly." He was somewhat upset.

"I think you"ll restore fast."

"I hope so," Squint-Eye tossed his bangs away and shook his head sorrowfully. "Oh shit," he muttered unhappily.

Nikto was drinking silently and watching him. Over Squint-Eye"s upper lip there was a thin black thread with little knots.

Squint-Eye looked up.

"Are you reading my thread?" he asked.