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"Out of paradise and straight into purgatory," Graycrowd of people He used the term loosely Around him meandered bull-faced littered - and who also dressed in scanty, see-through robes with e than a Playboy centerfold (which he only flipped through for the articles) They reht, pretty and delicate
Giant, one-eyed Cyclopses shook the ground as they walked, and griffins, half lion, half bird, raced on all fours, growling and snapping at each other, their tails whipping from side to side Overhead, birds flew - no Not birds, he realized They possessed grotesquely e - breasts, and the body of a bird Talons, wings and all Harpies, that&039;s what they were With
beautiful breasts Had he mentioned those?
He was truly hard up if fe him on Maybe it was time to renew his subscription to Playboy For the articles
There were a few centaurs, half man, half horse like the sheep fargling horned children darted past hiated him down the mountain and into this - whatever it was Town? Freak fest? He&039;d already checked in with horipped his knife, careful to keep the dark metal hidden within the folds of his robe Heat stretched froht rubber band, ready to crack and break at the first sign of pressure Still, he was glad for his robe and hood They blended him into the crowd quite nicely And if anyone sensed his huave no notice
You made it, Jewel said, breathless with excitement You really made it The last was barely a whisper The closer he&039;d drawn to this area, the more desperate she&039;d become for him to reach her
"Finally," he muttered "Where a his hood around his face This is the Centralagora - market - for the Outer City
Only then did he notice the vendors selling their wares Glea jewelry and - slaves His eyes widened A reen scales instead of skin and red-rimmed eyes paced in front of a line of naked hu theive to speak Atlantean The slaves ell muscled and streaked with dirt and whip marks, and they each wore an expression of dismay, their cheeks flushed with huround
Gray&039;s hands flexed and relaxed, flexed and relaxed He wanted to cut them loose, at least try to save them, but that wasn&039;t his mission and he couldn&039;t afford to draw attention to himself Maybe, after he found the jewel, he&039;d come back for them
Those men are rapists, killers and thieves
"Then they deserve what they get," he said, losing all traces of pity He turned away from them The scent of fresh, succulenteaten only one decentfruits, nuts, and tasteless energy bars - in the past five days, he craved steak, so rare it mooed, with a loaded baked potato on the side
With a sexy serving wench, I&039;ons control and protect the Inner City, outcasts and the more bloodthirsty races stay in this area It&039;s why everyone here carries a weapon No one trusts anyone else
Gray intensified his guard He even let his robe drop froth of his ht Everyone else had a weapon, and they weren&039;t afraid to show it He&039;d stand out if he didn&039;t showcase his blade
So the backpack that was hidden under his robe and causing hirowled, knife raised, ready to strike, but the bull-faced e
Follow him He&039;ll lead you to ures out of his way as he claate and toward a black crystal castle that swept a towering apex toward the doaze remained on the bull-man&039;s back Anticipation unfurled in his sto he&039;d finally admitted to himself that his desire to reach Jewel had less to do with hisher in the flesh More than anything, he wanted to save this woman who had been his only companion for two days
"Where are you?" hehiue
I&039;m at the top of the palace steps Hurry, Gray, please hurry I will only be here a few momentsThat you are really here
He finally reached the bull-man and shoved him out of the way Sweat beaded across every inch of his skin, trickling down and wetting his robe He would have preferred to hold his gun, but there wasn&039;t much two bullets could do in a crowd this size Since he hadn&039;t used the grenades, he had those, and would use them if necessary He only hoped it didn&039;t corumbled when he continued to shoulder his way closer to the castle Alainst, Jewel? You never toldfor any signs of trouble Searching for her Someone stepped directly in his path, and he barreled into thehim forward Damn it, would this crowd never part? Would he never reach the steps?
I can feel your presence
Strangely, he could feel hers A warreater intensity every step he took Faster, faster, he strode, only then realizing she hadn&039;t answered his question
And then, he forgot about his need for answers
He was there, standing at the front of the crowd, his feet hitting the botto, searching, cli the dirty, blood-soaked staircase Where was she? His heart ha his ribs with its fierceness He couldn&039;t see her
The centaur beside hi to his female companion Gray shifted his attention - and sucked in a shocked breath
There she was
He kneas her, kneas Jewel And she was a stone fox A bound stone fox, and seeing her ar column, pissed him off royally
A pristine robe draped her slender body, knotted at her right shoulder and just below her sto her curves as it billowed against her fra contrast against her virgin-white clothes Even from here, he could see the crealisten like a pearl
His stoer at seeing her bound In arousal at si her Her face was as smooth and pure as his mother&039;s antique cameo Not classically beautiful, but
so at her Her lips were full and pink, deliciously pouty
She was familiar to him, but he didn&039;t knohere he&039;d seen her before He only knew that he had seen her at some point in his life Hoas that possible?
A black-robedthe nored him
"I&039;m here," Gray whispered "Toward your left" Her chin snapped up and turned in his direction Their gazes collided
He sucked in another breath, this one burning his lungs with the force of its sizzle Her eyes were large, so large they doly blue Otherworldly blue A
shade so clear and deep he could easily lose his soul in their depths - and thank her for the loss They hypnotized him
"My God," he said, unable to hold the words inside
Her buttercup lips lifted in a dazzling s hiht and white Perfect
You&039;re even more handsome than I realized
And she was lovelier than he ever could have guessed
He watched as a scaled, yellow ared her in the shoulder Her grin quickly faded, I&039;m sorry I must finishman Her rosy lips moved as she spoke to him, but Gray was too far away to hear what she said
She closed her eyes, paused for a long, protracted moment, then spoke so in relief
Gray&039;s eyes narrowed, and his te on here? He forced himself to study the little details he had uards stood behind her Two small, sharp horns protruded from each of their scalps Their noses beaked, and their skin pulsed with a yellowish, scaly hue Evil red eyes stared out at the crowd None of them held a weapon, but then, they didn&039;t need weapons Gray knew froth and speed, as well as their razor sharp teeth to defend and attack
A wave of shock worked through hi This is what Jewel hadShe needed him to save her from an army of demons Sure No problem Whatever
"How many are there?"
She needed no explanation More than I can count I can make an escape plan for us, but I must wait until I&039;h firepower to beat such a large ar without Jewel He also kneasn&039;t going to wait on Jewel to make the escape plan That happened to be one of his specialties
A guard cut her ropes, and she sank into a heap on the ground He yearned to race up the steps and sweep her away, but she was quickly scooped up and carried inside the castle
"What&039;s going on? Where are they taking you?" Silence
"Jewel!" he shouted, and he didn&039;t care who heard hiain, silence
Da Didn&039;t like the feeling of helplessness working its way through hian to disperse, and he soon found hih slitted eyes He released a heated sigh "Be ready, babe I&039; in"
"What know you of a portal that leads froe of the bed, Jewel blinked up at Marina, Queen of the Demons, and prayed her expression remained blank "A portal?" She phrased the words as a question, though she already knew the answer
"Darius of the Dragons has taken a huh a portal located below the dragon palace" Marina&039;s arainst her scaled forearms The scent of sulfur eons, so you should know if the portal exists Does it?"
Lying, for Jewel, brought great physical pain She didn&039;t knohy, she only knew that it did happen Horrendous, agonizing pain The information Marina wanted was not infors would happen to the dragons, a race of creatures she adored But if she lied, bad things would happen to her
Silence would not work As always, Marina would threaten to kill an innocent for every minute Jewel remained silent She would si different
"Do you truly believe a cold and ons, would discuss a secret portal withI would one day be stolen frolance at her "I&039;irl Ansith a question and your words are never lies Not this time You will answer me with a yes or a no Understand?"