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"Slade killed Victor, and I’d say the kid was er across his throat "Victor was nearly as badass as Maulin and the kid beat hiht"

The other man chuckled "Wasn’t all that fair We had Slade outnumbered--" He broke off and blinked a couple of tiht If that kid took out Victor in one shot, ly "I’ed dejected looks before going their separate ways, one out the front door, and the other toward the kitchen I presu their rounds

Elyssa backed away, sle pushup It looked cool, so I did the same, and nearly fell backward into a table with a vase She caughtlook with a raised eyebrow, so an amused smirk at the same time I didn’t kno she stayed so calm

As for the conversation, it was clear Kassus’s men now had a healthy respect for my abilities On the downside, it alsoto kill es

We crept back to the last door on the left It and the door at the end were the only two closed In my mind, that meant they had to be occupied Still, we’d followed protocol to the letter, clearing the open rooms because it would have really sucked if soht saw us creeping past

Elyssa touched the knob Sloisted it The latch made a click, which would have been faint to normal ears but sounded quite loud to ht of the chandelier in the central stairwell, I ht fell onto a king-sized four-poster bed straight out of a fairy tale Stuffed anion sat atop the bed Pink and purple dominated

Definitely Ivy’s rooh someone had been in it, but unless she could turn herself invisible, or had hidden herself because she heard us co in, I didn’t think my sister was around We went inside and closed the door anyway Ivy had quite a bag of tricks, and we had to be sure the roo on a table next to a stuffed bunny The rooe as the others we’d seen, but cluttered by coainst one wall, filled with fairy tale books and several classics by Mark Twain

Elyssa’s eyes went soft as she pulled a yellow book fro A Good Sister For Dummies

I smiled Maybe I needed the corollary book for brothers

We spent the next fewthe room but failed to turn up aged I had little doubtlocks would prove much of an obstacle for Ivy, especially since she could presu as she had line of sight Elyssa directed me out of the room, and eased the door closed behind us She pointed toward the last door and gave two sharp shakes of her head

Don’t have to convinceinto an alligator pond with chicken strapped to our faces Creeping back down the halleI should re upside down by her legs so her head hung just below the ceiling on the first floor She dropped, flipping and landing on her feet without a sound, thanks to the Nightingale arave nal to proceed

Since I wasn’t nearly as srateful for the stealth armor Whiteon the hard floor reached our ears Elyssa pressed her back to the wall behind a table in the middle of the hall I flattened myself beside her The footsteps drew closer I felt a bead of sweat trickle down lance to the side to see us

Then again, if it was one of the huuards, one dart should take care of them Elyssa touched her collar A blackher head I did the saht, I hardly noticed as it covered my face Despite the outward appearance of a solid blackcoveredto hie, but you’re the real ic in my life Will you ood enough," he said after repeating it once ht you up for the rest of ri uy out if for no other reason than to prevent another atrocioushis mouth

The footsteps resumed and faded Elyssa peeked around the table She blurred to the corner where another hallway intersected this one, and looked down it She crooked her elbow at ninety degrees, holding up a fist Her hand flicked open, fingers waggling forward, indicating I should folloas really starting to feel like a secret agent, if not an outright ninja with the way she led

I pokeda little way down the hall fro on the wall His lips moved, but I intentionally tuned hie Elyssa’s head reh theout her expression She finally pointed down the hallere in, apparently deciding not to put Bob out of our irl

We slinked down the hall Bob’s partner abruptly walked around the corner He had just enough tihtened face before a silver dart sprouted from his neck He fell into Elyssa’s arms She motioned toward a closed door a few feet down from us I opened it to reveal a small library A moment later, I found a closet inside the library and opened it Elyssa deposited the ainst the back wall of the closet, and concealed him with a dust cover I found on a shelf

"How did we not hear him?" I whispered

She inspected the man’s shoes "Rubber soles"

I wondered why Bob hadn’t worn quieter shoes, but figured if his ideas for good e proposals were any indication, he wasn’t the kind of guy who even thought about that sort of thing