Like most of his family, Nicolae had not had much schooling, his parents (God rest them) having felt that a Rom educated among gadje was merely an outsider twice over. He was, however, somewhat self-taught, and familiar with the concept of pain as an autonomic self-defence reaction. Even in his agony, he cynically wondered why, in that case, he was unable to do anything but flail about pathetically, rather than fighting back effectively. So much for intelligent design¦ not that resistance would have achieved anything except ensuring that they would beat him to death. He almost wished that they would have the mercyto strike his head and render him unconscious, when it dawned upon him that the assault had ceased.

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