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The niche held a custom-fitted harness, a neatly folded habit, and a steel case After donning the harness and habit, Si the weapons inside The short, razor-sharp blades she slid into each of the harness’s sheaths; the box of aazines of three seuns to clean them before she took them into the hills to practice and check their accuracy Whenever she’d considered discontinuing the unpleasant task, her father’s voice would begin ringing in her ears

You must be prepared at all times

She was not ready for this; she would never be ready Yet as her father had predicted, her feelings didn’t ree He had once told her about Pavlov’s fa that as a child of eleven she had not quite understood

When the bell rings, the dog feeds

Running downstairs, she had to dodge around several startled sisters, and kept silent as they called out their concern to her From the convent she went to the stables, where the three horses they oere placidly enjoying their es, whoetable cart when they took their herbs to h he seemed puzzled when Simone yanked up her skirts to mount him

"Come, Geo" She walked him out of the barn to the back of the yard, where a footpath led back into the hills Three ns, and nearly hidden a acres of ancient hundred-foot-tall plane trees, lay her destination: Château Niege Her father’s house, her childhood home

The prison she would never escape

Chapter 2

A

s he deftly avoided yet another crater, Korvel decided the waitress at La Théière Verte had sent him down the worst road in southern France Already half-caked in ained a crack in its windshield, thanks to gravel shed froendar Now the road’s condition had deteriorated to the point where he was obliged to slalorassy shoulders to spare his tires When his , Korvel pulled off onto the side of the road before he answered it "Yes"

"Captain" Static crackled across the line but failed to drown out the unsettling power of Richard Trelanced at the GPS "Not as yet, my lord I should reach it before dawn" He hesitated before he asked, "Has soed?"

"I have just received a report fro to the tresoran council, which was based in Italy The council, which governed all the tresori who served the Darkyn as their huh lord only in the event of a real eanized the means hich they intend to acquire the property in question"

Korvel’s jaw set Whoever had taken interest in the scroll would bea direct attempt to steal it "When do they make their bid?"

"Our friends believe they will try within the next several hours" The high lord’s voice grew sharper "Upon your arrival, youerrand ht now result in an unwanted confrontation--one Korvel was hardly prepared for "Are there any of our associates in the immediate area?"

"Our friends have family there," Richard said "They will instruct them to meet you and provide whatever assistance you need"

"I would rather they not,the Kyn for enerations, and were trained from birth to become operatives with a variety of skills, Korvel disliked depending on theht he preferred to have his own kind watching his back He thought for a moment "Could you call on Gabriel and his lady to usted "I would, if I knehere the devil they are"

Two of the finest trackers a the Darkyn, Gabriel Seran and Nicola Jefferson had been devoting all their tieted by their enemies Nicola, who had been attacked and accidentally made Darkyn by Richard’s former wife, Elizabeth, had later found and saved Gabriel from a horrible and slow death The two had bonded, and while Nicola remained fiercely devoted to her lover, she had little love for the Darkyn, and showed no respect for Richard whatsoever

The high lord’s voice faded in and out "You will report…me as…you have…the property"