The wooden stair ate the first brass button from Todd's coat.
Cava had warned him about the boards dusted white along the edges. Supporting her injured side left him one foot for choosing where they landed, and the stair kept changing its opinion about which foot counted.
The marked board folded under his heel. A slot opened beside his ankle.
Todd dropped the button in before the step could close on his boot.
"The stair ate my least useful button first."
Cava kept one arm across his shoulders. The cloth around her ankle had turned dark where the restraint ring tore it, and her old captain brand pulled them down whenever they passed a wall built from quarry brick.
"Your coat has three buttons left and fourteen toll boards below us."
"Then Griswald owes my coat a route adjustment and an apology."
"He pays apologies through somebody else's mouth, which makes collection difficult."
