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~ Of Venators and Vis Bullae ~

Macey thought her knees were going to give way, but she had the presence ofat him "Get out of here or I&039;ll screa in "Venator? Temple? Who are you?" Macey was still jittery, but her panic had begun to subside; he sounded fa Chas froood look at hi his face in shadoith his fedora riding unfashionably low over his forehead

"Let&039;s go We&039;re going to give your friend the slip He&039;s not invited" He flashed a hu her arm, directed her firmly out into the cafe&039;s back hallway

By now she was certain her assailant was indeed the trenchcoated man from the alley behind The Gyro-that hy he&039;d seemed familiar when he walked into the diner Teht she was the mysterious Macey Gardella

"I can&039;t just leave hi to have to"

"No" She yanked at his grip, and to her surprise, she easily pulled free "I&039;llget rid of hi at her from beneath his hat "A Venator with a conscience That won&039;t last long"

Venator again "Who are you?"

"Hurry, or I&039;ll make a scene"

She believed his to ditch Grady, Macey wondered whether she should go with Chas or not Maybe she should ditch both of theo with Chas and clear this up

"What took you so long?" Grady asked as she met him near the front door of the cafe "You didn&039;t have to primp for me, I already think-hey What&039;s that on your neck?"

Daotten her scarf Her hand whipped up to cover the wound "Nothing I have to go I forgot I&039;m supposed to be somewhere Thanks for lunch"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Gradyher close to his side,at her neck, and his eyes had gone dark "If that&039;s what I think it is-"

"Proble the way Macey&039;s heart lodged in her throat He looked like a ood hulance behind told her the attention of the cafe&039;s occupants was riveted on the scene in the entrance Two an to h the labyrinth of tablesWhere is she working?" sly toward theo," she said in a low voice She&039;d already attracted attention once before What if so?

"Go? With this goon?" Grady looked froht? You don&039;t have to go anywhere w-"

"It&039;s okay He&039;s a friend" She hoped he was, anyway "Don&039;t make a scene I really do appreciate lunch, Grady Thanks so ht he wasn&039;t going toin the small foyer as the two men took measure of each other They appeared well- her into the small space, and neither seemed ready to back down She could feel the battle of wills vibrating between them

"Need some help here, miss?" One of the men who&039;d risen from his meal interrupted

"No, thanks," Macey told him "It&039;s fine" She looked up at Grady, whose blue eyes were cold and flat "It&039;s okay Really He&039;s a friend"

Heunder his breath After one lastaway just enough for her to slip by

"Good Christ," muttered Chas as he ushered her away froet the niceties and chit-chat? And you need soeneral direction of her neck

"What I need is to get everyone off , and I want to clear it up I&039; about"

Chas&039;s only response was a short laugh

Instead of leading her to an automobile or cab, he directed her briskly down the street and around the block, then into an alley She hesitated, pulling ahen they ca entrance to a tunnel

"I&039;ht tunnels are the fastest way to get where we need to go-without being seen You said you wanted to get this problem cleared up" Chas stood there, hands in his pockets, his fedora still shading his brows

"Why should I trust you?" Macey backed away What sort of fool would go down into a dark tunnel alone with a strange man? Her heart pounded and she looked around to see if anyone was nearby

"Have it your way But if we&039;re followed, you can explain to Vioget" Chas whirled on his heels and stalked off, apparently expecting her to followWhere is she working?" sly

And darn if she didn&039;t At least they were still on the street, in the daylight And his acquiescence went a long way inwith hi-whether to The Silver Chalice or soh such a maze of backstreets and narrow alleys Macey lost track of where they were Since they didn&039;t travel on the ns other than the Drake loo in the distance

By the tiuely familiar, she was not only co up trucks in back alleyswith things Macey kneere illegal Barrels, clinking jugs in crates, and other things she didn&039;t want to see or recognize

She averted her eyes-just likewith her escort Better not to take note of anything

"After you" Chas pointed to an iron-railed stairway that led beneath the street

Macey noticed the s, shaped like a chalice-exactly like the one she saw last night Since she and Chas were on a different street, she could only assume there was , pal, Macey looked around Scads of people were about on their way to market or other errands, but no one seemed to take particular notice of theo for everyone except her

"For the love of God, you&039;re not going to your execution," Chas said, gesturing again "And that bite needs to be seen to, sooner rather than later You wouldn&039;t want to scar that long neck of yours"

She couldn&039;t argue, for the warun to seep more freely into her collar, activated by the brisk walk Hoping she wasn&039;t about to make a fatal mistake, Macey drew in a deep breath and started down the steps As she descended, leaving the sunlight and familiarity behind her, she felt a chill settle over the back of her neck

At the bottom of the stairs was an iron door with a knocker in the center A soblet was imprinted in the center of the metal, and above it was a peephole

Chas crowded into the small space next to her, and Macey felt a trickle of alarerous-and she was trapped by three sides of brick wall below the street But he didn&039;t even look at her; instead, he used the knocker and waited Macey shivered as the nausea-edged chill surged stronger over the back of her neck

"You feel that, do you?" Chas looked down at her, grim satisfaction in his tones "Not bad for a novice"

She had no idea what he ht have asked if the peephole door hadn&039;t swung open a throbbing slyt that moment Two amber-colored eyes looked out at her, blinked, then shifted to Chas "About bloody time"

The door to The Silver Chalice opened and there stood the most handsome man Macey had ever seen He had blond-tipped tawny hair, rich golden skin and hot amber eyes His full lips formed a sensual srew even wars er

"Sebastian Vioget, at your service"

If Sebastian had any lingering doubts Macey Denton was the young woood look at her in full light would have wiped them away

She very much resembled Victoria-notwildly around her jaw and earlobes, or the lush, wide mouth he&039;d known so well-but also in the way she carried herself, in the lift of her stubborn chin, the tilt of her head, the shape of her striking face

But not her eyes And that hat clinched it Macey Denton had the Pesaro eyes: large and dark, thick-lashed They were extraordinarily beautiful and expressive, bright with intelligence-and laced with suspicion

Except for the glint of wariness, it was like looking into Giulia&039;s eyes

For the first ti inside hi Hope

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