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Silent Blade Ilona Andrews 32110K 2023-08-31

"Please, Meli You’re still a Galdes Even if you did retire"

Why did she feel guilt? She owed the on their behalf She just wanted to be free now Free and alone Her father knew this She’dtheir last communication

She didn’t bend her rules, as the family learned the first tiet without a sufficient reason This job had to be special Soot the better of her "Who is the target?"

"Does this el"

She supposed it had so to do with Raban, Inc, but she had excised herself fros remained a mystery to her She had no idea ned Raban, Inc

She heard the barely audible click as Angel tapped the keys on his end of the screen

A faint tug on her senses from the left She didn’t hear it, didn’t see it, but felt it with some innate sixth sense, or perhaps an imperceptible combination of all five

Meli struck

Her eyes were still closed, but in herfroet and sel said

She opened her eyes in time to see the manta ray shaped disk of interceptor crash to the floor in a s ruin Quiet and equipped with s become a favorite in security Their state of the art sensory systems ensured that they located intruders quickly and the absolute silence of their flight made their detection nearly iet’s neck She made it a point to kill at least one atarget It helped her stay sharp

"It always rattles el said "Here is the file"

A s a downloaded file available for viewing He hesitated "I think you ht say Give it a thought, Meli Please For ertips to his mouth, pressed them to his forehead, and bowed his head The screen turned neutral grey, signaling the end of transrew to fill the screen with a facsimile of a manila folder The folder opened A picture of a man looked at her Ice burst at the base of her neck and slid down her spine

Celino Carvanna

Two hours later Meli sat in the garden Around her, dahlias bloo display of a hundred shades The delicate pink of Adelaide Fontane, the white frilly Aspen, the gaudy riot of orange that was Bodacious and her favorite, the Arabian Night, its sharpened petals a deep intense red of a Burgundy wine

Beyond the small plot lay a narrow street, typical to Old Tohere streets were narrow, houses old, property values low, and residents still kept an occasional garden Beyond the street lay a throughway If she rose and approached the fence, she would see the steady current of aerials gliding through the air A left turn on the throughould bring her to the heart of New Delphi’s financial district A right would take her to the Terraces, where tourist shops and cafes catered to the upscale clientele eager for a touch of the "old planet" and the memories of provinces that lay beyond the city