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"What does it mean?"

"That your kidnapper tied a natty cravat"

At the end of ers into Vale’s shirt and hissed at him, hard, my bared teeth inches from his lips He stumbled back with a look of such surprise that it was almost comical

"Did you just hiss atclever and explain to uy wanted to kidnapelephant It’snot subtle"

Vale held out his hand, and I dropped the button into it He bit the edge and turned it over with one wide finger, and I noted how odd it was to see a man’s bare hand; I still wasn’t used to it "It’s cast of solid gold, which is unusual The sy ic Bat wings signify nighttime The top hat is a very expensive kind, extra tall, favored only by the very wealthy men who can afford it So whoever he was, he had s"

"But you don’t knoho he was?"

"No But I expect that soht It’s an extraordinary man who isn’t known somewhere in Morts that take his fancy"

"Do we have a picture of hiettable"

He shook his head "The gendarht this little dainty before they could stuff everything in the incinerator"

"Hn It was pretty, if evil "So lots of hed "It doesn’t take a lot of endar by the fact that they were going to burn solid gold instead of keeping it, I’ed hands"

I tried to think back, but I had never really seen the kidnapper’s face, thanks to his goggles andto me Before he died" I paused, rolled the button back and forth on his palm "Mal"

"Mal?"

"That’s it"

"What does itto er over the dent his tooth had made in the button "Mal means bad, evil" But the way he rubbed his chin, his eyes shifting likemore, isn’t there?"

"Maybe There are ru called the Malediction Club Its h, and sworn to absolute secrecy on pain of death"

"But what is it?"

"I don’t know, not exactly I had always assu around with cigars, patting one another on the back But between this pin, your kidnapping, and the way the gendar, I suspect the Malediction Club is real and this is their crest, their sigil" He glanced up at the clock and then to the , his fist curling around the pin "Co h dark alleys and into Darkside Instead, he went right across the hall to knock on the room shared by Mel, Bea, and Blaise After asmile

"Demi needs your help," Vale said plainly, and Bea stepped back to let us in, her sainst the wood

Mel lay on the wooden double bed, curled on a bright red and green blanket and reading a book, which she quickly shut and slid under a fluffy white pillow Both girls were in si that co I’d never noticed before

They had no tails

Every dai, somewhat prehensile tail Luc and his brother at the caravan used the incredible dance , painting, or self-defense But Mademoiselle Caprice and every daimon I’d ever seen at Paradis had always been dressed in layers and layers of costuranted that their tails were curled up under volu and looked away

"You need help, chérie?" Mel asked, and Bea sat down beside her on the bed, their hands clasping unconsciously and reen for a beautiful teal that made me smile

"Are you sure--?" I started, and Vale nodded

"What do you know about the Malediction Club?" I asked

The color drained out of Bea, leaving her a sickly grayish-white, her eyelids fluttering as if she ht faint

Mel wrapped an arwhispered in the dark Wealthy s But no one’s ever seen it"