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It’s daure out how she thinks"

"Yes," Jared replied thoughtfully So Brock had said about links and psychic scents and Jewels kept teasing hinificance stayed just out of reach "Let’s find out a little "

"Even if it confuses us?" Blaed said with a hint of a s "Especially if it confuses us"

Chapter Thirty

Krelis leaned back against the table, crossed his feet at the ankles, and studied the surly man before him "You disappointed ain"

"I did," Brock replied belligerently "I did what I agreed to do Wasn’tmy fault there were problems that evenyou didn’t anticipate"

Krelis crossed his arms to keep his hand away from his knife "What kind of problems?"

When Brock took a step toward Krelis, two Opal-Jeweled Hayllian guards grabbed his arled uselessly for a ht a whiff of fear and found himself aroused by it "What kind of problems?"

"A broken Black Widoasn’t broken," Brock said, pouting "A Warlord Prince who’d disguised what he was until ell into the journey Garth still having brains enough to figure out what the buttons were for and picking them up after I’d left them for theto play Queen’s stud You can’t blame me for any of that"

"Perhaps not," Krelis said "But the fact is your inability to perforh Priestess--and there are penalties for inconveniencing the High Priestess of Hayll"

"I did uards "You’ve got the little bitch-Queen now"

Krelis looked at the other four guards who had quietly entered the roohtened their hold

"But the inconvenience, Brock" Krelis shook his head "So, he withdrew the large white feather from his leather vest and unsheathed his knife "I have one ain will be co to build a psychic web," Lia said in a voice that had all elanced at the other men crowded into the tavern’s back room Blank faces Confused eyes Talon rubbed the back of his neck and frowned at the chalk circle Lia had drawn on the table Blaed looked at the ceiling, his eyes filled ry hu as if that statement made sense, Jared wondered if he’d feel less confused if he banged his head against the table a few times

Then he looked at Lia, and the trickle of amusement faded

The Queen and the Black Widoho sat across froers to hierous about the way they sat so still, so quiet

"Jared, since you wear the darkest Jewel, you’re going to be the web’s focal point," Lia said

Great WonderfulMother Night

Jared shifted uneasily "What’s it supposed to do?"

"It will give the weakest of you the protection of the strongest," Thera said in that voice that h the strands of the web, all of you will be connected A strike against any one of you will be absorbed by all of you The Red Jeill feed the web and keep it strong"

"It sounds fine as a defense," Talon said, "but Jared won’t be able to hold it long if they start unleashing their oels"

"They want Lia alive," Thera said, staring at the circle drawn on the table "They won’t risk a full attack until they have her"

"Even if they do nothing, he still can’t hold it forever," Talon argued "And they’re not going to get bored and just go hoiven, he only has to hold it for ten h, but he was very afraid it would co hysterical Didn’t they realize howRanon’s Wood?

Thera slashed a look in his direction--as if she’d heard the laughter "You held Red shields against the "

"There weren’t as many of them," Jared said testily