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She looked around the sone, I’ll reside again in the splendor that’s , will serve athim into another small room "I realize the body’s death is a shock"

Greer stared at the boy and girl cowering in a pile of straw

"We’re de his arm "We need fresh, hot blood With it, we can keep our dead flesh strong And although soer possible, there are coainst him, her lips close to his ear "Landen children A Blood child is better buton a landen child also has co fast, as if he needed air

"A pretty little girl, don’t you think, Greer? At your first psychic touch, her mind will burn to hot ash, but prihand fear is a delicious dinner"

3 / Terreille

You are my instrument

Daemon Sadi shifted restlessly on the se rooms beneath Deje’s Red Moon house

you arethe Winds to Cassandra’s AltarSurreal already there, cryingCassandra there, angryso much bloodhis hands covered with Jaenelle’s blooddescending into the abyssfalling, screaa child asn’t a childa narrow bed with straps to tie down hands and feeta sumptuous bed with silk sheetsthe Dark Altar’s cold stoneblack candlesscented candlesa child screa a tiny spiral hornhis body pinning hers to cold stone while she fought and screaive hiers tickling a fawn taila narrow bed with silk sheetsa suiveher downwhat had he done?

Cassandra’s anger cutting himwas she safe?was she well?a sumptuous stone bedsilk sheets with strapsa child screaive ainst the wall and listened to Daemon’s muffled sobs Who would have suspected that the Sadist could be so vulnerable? She and Deje knew enough basic healing Craft to heal his body, but neither of them kne to fix the er, he was becoile, vulnerable

For the first few days after she had brought hi what had happened But she could tell hiirl, Rose, she had entered Briarwood, killed the Warlord who had raped Jaenelle, and then had taken Jaenelle to the Sanctuary called Cassandra’s Altar Daemon had joined her at the Sanctuary Cassandra was there, too Daemon had ordered them out of the Altar roo Jaenelle’s Self back to her body Surreal had used that time to set traps for Briarwood’s "rescue party" When theas she could By the time she’d retreated to the Altar rooone and Daemon could barely stand She and Daemon had ridden the Winds back to Beldon Mor and had spent the last three weeks hiding in Deje’s Red Moon house

That’s all she could tell him It wasn’t what he needed to hear She couldn’t tell hiirl was safe and well And it seeth of the Black Jewels, still had the ability to unleash all of that dark power If he lost his tenuous hold on sanity

Surreal turned at the sound of a stealthy footfall on the stairs at the end of the dieway The sobs behind the closed door stopped

Moving swiftly, silently, Surreal cornered the woman at the bottom of the stairs "What do you want, Deje?"

The dishes on the tray Deje was carrying rattled as the woht--" She lifted the tray in explanation "Sandwiches So at her breasts? It wasn’t the look of an efficientlike that?

Surreal looked down Her clenched hand was holding her favorite stiletto, its tip resting against the Gray Jewel that hung on its gold chain above the swell of her breasts She hadn’t been aware of calling in the stiletto or of calling in the Gray She had been annoyed with the intrusion, but

Surreal vanished the stiletto, pulled her shirt together to hide the Jewel, and took the tray froy"

"The Gray," Deje whispered "You wear the Gray"

Surreal tensed "Not when I’ in a Red Moon house"

Deje didn’t see"

Surreal shifted the tray’s weight to her left hand and casually let her right hand drop to her side, her fingers curled around the stiletto’s coht If it had to be done, it would be fast and clean Deje deserved that much

She watched Deje’s face while the woed the bits of information she knew about the whore named Surreal, as also an assassin When Deje finally looked at her, there was respect and dark satisfaction in the woman’s eyes

Then Deje looked at the tray and frowned "Best use a war spell on that tea or it won’t be fit to drink"

"I’ll take care of it," Surreal said

Deje started back up the stairs

"Deje," Surreal said quietly "I do pay ave her a sharp set soth back"