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Now Hess wasabout so through the sewers and was now set to

Well, Hess hadn’t been entirely clear on what he suspected the intruder intended to do Of course, Hess rarely bothered to use the luraywhen you could flounder around with raw instinct?

Thankfully unaware of Salvatore’s less than cohts, Hess came to a sudden halt and peered into the inky blackness

"There, I warned you," the cur hissed, his finger pointing toward a distant corner "An intruder"

A jolt of surprise raced through Salvatore as he studied the tiny de beneath his breath as he attes

He sniffed deeply, unable to believe this stroke of fortune

"The gargoyle The same one I s"

Hess stiffened, the air prickling about his to the vampire?"

"So it would seeoyle I will s hier man stepped forward only to corasp his arm

"No"

"But"

"He’s obviously here as a spy for the vaoyle, as shaking his tail and stillto take back to his e "Have you lost your hed Curs "You’re always so eager to solve your problems with violence when diplomacy would serve you so much better"

"When you kill your eneood does a corpse do you?" Salvatore deround and don’t cause trouble"

"A lesson, my friend," Salvatore drawled "A wise man can use everyone Even his eneled to h hi his lips

"You were quick enough to fire an arrow at the vaed He couldn’t deny that he had taken great pleasure in putting the arrogant bastard on the ground The only pity was that he hadn’t ed to kill hiet," he drawled "Tonight, however, I intend to use another sort of arrow to shoot at the Anasso"

"What will you do?"

"Let oyle," Salvatore commanded "I want you to make sure your curs don’t stued to slip in and out undetected"

Hess hesitated before giving a shrug and slipping through the darkness The cur ht prefer a more bloodthirsty response to the intruder, but he possessed enough intelligence to do as he was told

Dis his servant frooyle, as carefullyhis way across the damp floor

A smile touched his dark face

On this occasion the mountain was about to coh of contentment She hadn’t intended to seduce Styx when she had come in search of him Or at least not consciously But o about the small arena and not have her passions stirred?

Especially a wo herself the least hint of intiuilty

Her life was too often filled with loneliness and disappointment Why not enjoy the unexpected flashes of happiness that came her way? She would live in theon the soft mat still wrapped in Styx’s ar utterly content, she touched the strange a her head to aze

"Are you suitably vanquished?" she murmured softly

A slow sh I led to her very toes "Strange, so do I"

"Why did you leave htly traced her lips "I missed you when I awoke"

"You were injured and you needed your sleep Besides, I’ I intend to change," he htened about her "If you want me to demonstrate we could return to my rooms"

She chuckled "I think any demonstrations should wait until later Unlike you, I’h to need some time to recuperate"

"You are far more than merely human"