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Cles in short order, and decided to enter the hall to reconnoiter with Tricky if she&039;d coht work for an unobtrusive entrance-a gate that was guarded, but with only one guardand one guard could easily be disposed of from the inside once they deterreat hall was nearly eh dais, acomfortablyand &039;twas the shock of white-blond hair that identified him to Cleht then, and send the hted his thighbut that would be Gavin&039;s honor and Cleht

He looked around and saw nothing of Tricky Unease prickled his spinewhere else could the woman be, unless she&039;d slipped from the hall before he came in? He&039;d make his way back to the stable where they were to h, Clem turned and came face to face with Rohan

Tricky, whose hand was irasp, hurried down a narroinding stair in his wake She thought she saw a small shadow scuttle from a corner and dart beneath her feet, and she stifled a shriek

Where was Tavis taking herand ould he do with her once they arrived?

She prayed that at least her risk would come to fruition, and that she would see Madelyne wherever it was they were bound

At last, they reached a small oaken door, heavily barred Tavis released her hand, and, giving her an eager, sweet smile, said, "One moment, my dear, and you shall see what it is we have worked for"

It took him several runt, he pushed the door open Immediately, a putrid sed at the fu her into a cave-like cha on the walls

Tricky&039;s eyes darted about and fastened on a long table near one end of the rooure lay on it, but was so shadowed she couldn&039;t tell even if it was a ed her arm-the man was like a small child faced with a room of sweets-she was forced to follow him to the opposite side of the chamber

The smell seemed to have lessened, so Tricky could breathe more freelybut when she was faced with the snake heads and skeletons of s liquid and sliainst Tavis

"What is it,down at her, one hand on either side of her hips, trapping her against the table Suddenly, she felt very frightened and it was all Tricky could do to keep her face blank of fear

"Naught&039;n, my lord," she told him "I betrippedhard, she reached up to trail a single finger down the side of his face "I cannot believe you know all of this! Tell s"

It was the right response Tavis nearly clapped his hands with glee and, towing her about the laboratory, pointed out everything from instruments of extraction-she did not ask what they extracted-and devices designed to boil and purge and grind and beat the ingredients to whatever potion they

When they , upon the table, Tavis paused to look into Tricky&039;s eyes "This," he told her, a sli at the body, whose face was turned away, "will be our salvation She will hear the Word of God, she will praise Him and serve Him and will be our salvation!"

He stared down at her, his breath rising and falling, and as if in a trance, reached out a hand to touch the figure that lay supine Tricky stepped forward to get a look at her face

It was Madelyneand she appeared to be alive!

"What-who-is that?" she asked boldly, slipping her hand into the crook of Tavis&039;s arm

He appeared to shake froone frohter ofGod in an abbey My ood of ainst her in his glee "She has been wed, and my master fears that she has been tainted by the touch of an i into a dark mask, "Despite her imperfections, now, h I burn to do so" He turned to look at Tricky again, lust glazing his face "I shall have to settle for the likes of youbut I vow, &039;twill be to your enjoyht throat dry and tasting of bile Tavis, who appeared to have no concerns that she would carry tales, explained, "We wait only until she has been cleansed-exorcised-fro Mythe evil fro, slender whip and looked at her "She will not see the light of day again, for she must serve in silence and piety and for my master only"

Tricky blanched and terror clawed up her spine

"He plans to wait for another moon to be certain she does not carry her husband&039;s childand if she does, aye, he ht carry a rasp as he flung his arms wide to encompass the chamber, the realm, the earthand she stepped backward If there was any chance that she could sneak away

"Where are you going?" Tavis turned, his voice booed for her and she side-stepped, crashing into a table and knocking a mortar and pestle to the floor "I-I must find my brotherhe orry about me," Tricky said "I would find hi a hip suggestively against the table Purposely breathing heavily, she forced her breasts to rise and fall just beneath his nose and watched as his attention floundered between her chest and the work in the laboratory

"NayI will have a e sent to him You may not leave yet" He reached and closed a hand around her breast, then his other hand pulled her toward him so that her hips sla between thean to race

Before she knew it, she was pushed back against a table and Tavis had yanked her skirts up to her thighs Panicked, Tricky began to kick and pound at hi, and bore her to the table His groping hands pinched at her, causing great stabs of pain to shoot through her breasts She began to sob, kicking, fighting, rolling her head fros were forced apart

Suddenly, the door swung open and a voice booently up in the hall!"

Tavis paused only for a moment, then returned to Tricky "Nay, I am occupied, de MasinI&039;ll be there in a bit"

"&039;Tis one of Mal Verne&039;s hten and whip his head about to look over his shoulder Tricky&039;s heart pounded in her throat as she struggled anew Clem! Did he mean Clem?

"Help me with this and I&039;ll be up" He stepped away froether and tried to roll away, but he held her fir close to her face, he said, "I will return to you, my little coquetteand you will not only watch us make history, but you will enjoy it as well!"