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"Up," she said "All of you, go up"
"Surreal," Rainier began
"Hop, crawl, I don’t care Get up those stairs I’ the poker as a cane, he hobbled up the stairs as fast as he could
The Eyrien Warlord pulled out her stiletto and dropped it on the floor The three-fingered witch ca rooht
"Surreal," Rainier said "Come on"
The three of them moved toward her, sure they’d have her, one way or another
She was sure too--until a blast of power shook the house
It was so daht as he watched the spooky house When it ca a psychic thread, the Black gave hi reach, and he and Lucivar were usually able to contact each other over fairly long distances Now the tangled webs around that house separated them
Be patient, old son He’ll get out Lucivar has stood on worse killing fields and walked away He’ll walk away froray power Even the spells around the house weren’t strong enough to completely muffle the temper behind that punch
"Lucivar," Dae from the Coach to join him
He touched her shoulder "You check the point where he intended to come out I’ll circle around the house in case he needed to choose another exit"
She trotted toward the far side of the house He went in the other direction
And he tried not to think of what he’d tell Saetan if Lucivardidn’t come out of that house
Lucivar stood in as left of the front hallway and listened Waited Then he frowned
No gong If the last exit had closed, wouldn’t he sense so? Or…
"Every time Craft is used," he said softly "Every timeCraft is used" Craft, not power Had the little writer-mouse made that distinction deliberately? Had the man even realized there was a difference? Probably not
Of course, it was a subtle distinction, one that hadn’t occurred to him when he’d heard the rules--and still wouldn’t have occurred to hi confiries, Bastard I guess you could have played this game after all"
Lucivar waited Listened
The house felt oddly e and the last guest is gone
Had Surreal and Rainier gotten out? Was the gaame hadn’t ended becausehe was still here Whichto herd all his predators to one particular spot
But not in this house And not in the first house Pointless to drive Surreal and Rainier back to the starting point when there was one last possibility--the third house
Lucivar opened hisfrom…that direction Up there In the third house
He smiled and rolled his shoulders to loosen thefield in this place after all
They had followed the children into one of the roo bedroo off that possible escape The Eyrien Warlord and the two Black Widoere standing in the doorway, savoring the an
"So," Surreal said as she shifted to stand on Rainier’s left and support his weak side as long as she could "This is where we die"
Rainier shifted slightly to defend against thecildru dyathe "Yeah This is where we die"
TWENTY-FOUR
"You have to shield again," Surreal told Rainier, shifting her weight as the predatorsthe moment of attack She cut hier if you’re shielded Maybe long enough for Lucivar to join the fight"
"That e," Rainier said But he created an Opal shield around hi What did that er made a difference if they used Craft? That the last exit had closed? That they were trapped in this house forever?
Forever ainst this place and tore it all apart--and everyone still in it
A sideways glance at Rainier He eating heavily, his face tight with pain
He was a dancer And that leg…
The tight shield around his thigh was acting like a brace, which was the only reason he was still on his feet She couldn’t think about what it was going to cost hi field?" Rainier asked
"I’ve seen hie Hell’s fire, your caste of e as easy as you breathe MaybeI saw hi field" Rainier sed hard "May the Darkness haveshe wanted to hear--especially when it was being said by one Warlord Prince about another
A door suddenly appeared in the wall and swung open--and the demon-dead walked out A dozen of them None of theht