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Lanthe answered, "Nothing at this exactcould have coeon In any case, O to search for you

Sabine turned to one of her Inferi "You Come here" She&039;d promised the demon that he could be free tojust guilty enough to allow him a pair of pants and some limited freedom

As the attendant ran off with her instructions, Sabine and Lanthe hastened to court

"Your eyes are still glowing, Abie You e that before you see Omort"

Sabine wove a new illusion over her face "It wasnice with Rydstroht-who looked at her as if nothing else existed for hi for him?"

"Could there be a more doomed relationship? It is ridiculous even to contemplate" His husky voicethe way his sood"

"I think that intrigues you," Lanthe said "He&039;s aas you, and one you can&039;t defeat"

"Can we talk about this later? Perhaps after you tellhere?"

"Pravus patrols are returning with reports of s in nue demons even attacked the patrols"

"They&039;ve never dared before"

"They knoe have their king And evidently they also know Cadeon has undertaken the quest for the sword Just like you&039;d said, it&039;s beco else?"

"Absolutely! I also heard that Omort has dispatched four fire demons to acquire not just a soothsayer, but the most powerful one in existence"

Sabine said, "Nïx"

The notorious Valkyrie oracle called N&iu Futs N&iuly insane

But her foretellings, when she deigned to give them, were always accurate

"It see the fire deot-we&039;ve heard word that va in the forest outside the castle to

take Tornin"

"Lothaire&039;s?" Was that why he&039;d been studying every­one, because he planned some kind of treachery? "We don&039;t think so His covenant is still intact" When they reached the grand double doors of the court, a snickering group passed the sisters on their way inside "What in the hell is going on?"

"They know you haven&039;t been able to seduce him" Her face fell "The covenant" Actual evidence that she was still a virgin was available for all the world to

see

Now everybody would be waiting for the tablet to break The Sorceri males she&039;d been sexual with-the ones who could never talk her out of her virginity- would think it great fun that she couldn&039;t even give her virtue away to the one she&039;d supposedly saved it for

"There are betting pools," Lanthepools And what are the odds?"

"You don&039;t want to know But we could make a mint if you can put a lock on this"

Everyone in the castle knew she was failing in her bid for power And she was about to enter court-a ruthless jungle of backbiting and betrayals Not only would this be dah in the poorshipping Pravus, her very life could be in jeopardy

Sabine heard more snickers Hettiah and her coterie of worthless Sorceri friends strolled past the sisters on their way into court Their lances made it easy for Sabine to see she would have to strike out

Lose face, lose life This was her world She hadn&039;t gone through the effort of surviving in it this long just to be killed when she was on the cusp of soht in there if challenged"

Though she and Lanthe had no battle sorcery, they both were scrappy and had become fair somen In battle, Sabine used her illusions tothe merrily

It wasn&039;t very valorous, but then, only stupid people held valor over life

"I know you&039;ll have to," Lanthe said quietly "And I can&039;t be there with you"

"Hey, don&039;t worry" Sabine held up her gauntlets "I just had ether, and the s to the ear-

Without warning, Lothaire traced in front of theht

Sabine raised her hands up to hihtmares "I&039;ve heard friends of yours plan to visit?"

"I&039;ll trace away before you madden me, sorceress," he said, his words laced with a thick accent Some said he hailed from Dacia, and had been a true Transylvanian

Sabine&039;s lips thinned, but she lowered her hands He hadn&039;t threatened her, and she wasn&039;t supposed to attack Lothaire Technically, he was part of the New Pravus

One of the inner circle His blood was in that tablet that hung on the east wall

He said, "Just to be clear, I have no friends And my soldiers are in the bailey downstairs"

"Then who lurks in our forest?" she asked

"One of the splinter factions breaking away fro died My spies indi­cate they&039;ll attack toht"

Tornin had protections in place-basically a mystickal moat-so the vampires wouldn&039;t be able to trace directly inside At least, not for long "What do they want?"

"The well"

The Well of Souls Arht to control it, because each faction of the Lore had its own legends surrounding it

The Lykae believed it cured the madness that accom­panied the transformation to olf The vampires believed it allowed them to be daywalkers and to turn human females into vampires for their potential Brides The House of Witches believed it gave them the abili­ties of all five of their castes

In truth, Sabine didn&039;t knohat the hell it did Even Omort vowed he didn&039;t All they kneas that the well&039;s poould be uniinable-and unlocked only by Sabine&039;s son

"Who leads the vampires?" Lanthe asked

"They have no true ruler, because they won&039;t accept a commoner likeonly those born in the royal line "Yet you lead the ones who&039;ve joined the Pravus"

"I ht have mentioned to the to rule them once more As soon as the Pravus wins"

Devious vampire He rose another notch in Sabine&039;s opinion "What about Kristoff?" He was the old king&039;s nephew and should be the true ruler, being of royal lineage, though not a drinker of living blood

Lothaire shook his head "They knoill make the, they won&039;t be brought to heel that easily Plus, they like the taste of hu for a shot of blood? "This is a ather In the next two nights,the es past"

Everyone knew the tales of Rydstro the Horde back froendary "One would think you&039;d be able to persuade them to leave"

"Would one?"

"Sabine!" Olassy-eyed, but when he saw her at the doorway, he seeone, Melanthe!" he ordered "Back to your tower"

"One day" Lanthe said telepathically, slinking off "Goodluck"

As Sabine sauntered inside toward the throne, all eyes were on her When she separated from Lothaire- lest others suspect them of a secret alliance-the vam­pire murmured, "Noted, sorceress"

Once she reached the dais, O Sabine would give anything for the antidote to his morsus Each poison was individual, and since O in the Basement, she was the only one who could cure Sabine

But the Hag had entered into a covenant never to surrender the antidote to another

"Cadeon the Kingmaker continues after the sword," O a tone as she could e, Sabine said, "Yes, brother, but it could take him years to find the Vessel"

"Cadeon already has her!"

Sabine&039;s lips parted "Are you saying the Vessel is on her way to Groot?" With a male like him, that female would bear another ultimate evil The world couldn&039;t withstand another like Omort "Send fire demons to assassinate her," Sabine said coolly

"You think I haven&039;t?" O his bottousted her Earlier, when Rydstro to leave him, he&039;d inhaled deeply, visibly in pain And then he&039;d gained control of hi she kept in chains or the mad sorcerer who could destroy the world but couldn&039;t keep a single castle in order?

Oainst the wall "Those demons continue to fail us"

"We&039;ll think of soo after her myself if I need to And I never fail you"

"You are failing ain and again!" He sla days for soet him to do this?"

"Was there a time limit to my task?"

Hettiah said, "We&039;ve heard word that you go and do nothing but talk"

Once! "Your pet&039;s ain, Omort Shut-her-up!"

"I think you&039;re not committed to this cause!" Omort snapped "Perhaps I should withhold the morsus to spur you on"

Sabine&039;s eyes narrowed The cha me with that, and you will not like the outcome"

"You dare-"

Four fire demons traced in front of the dais, just to her side The court fell silent in shock

The demons were beaten, bloody, and handless Pinned to the shirt collar of one was a folded note stamped with an N in a black wax seal

Nïx The Valkyrie had sent the them powerless

Omort stormed down the steps to the it open As he read, a vein bulged in his forehead "That bitch! She&039;ll knorath and will learn to fear it!" he yelled, cruo for her myself!" In an instant, Omort raised his hands and s around the charred re the paper to read:

Dear puss,

Is this all you&039;ve got? Why don&039;t you strap on your big girl panties and come face me yourself? Unless you fear that the Nixanatar will spank Omort&039;s wittle bottom

By the way, you&039;ve taken one of theto want him back Especially since Sabine cant break hi it,

N&iu, Soothsayer Without Equal,

General of the New Army of Vertas

Sabine whistled out a surprised breath The Valkyrie truly was crazed

Then she frowned Can&039;t break hiain, was there a time limit? Style points?

And as this Army of Vertas? Sabine had heard ruether- the Lykae, the Forbearers, the noble fey, the House of Witches, a mix of Demonarchies, and many more Had they all struck an alliance?

Perhaps they were using this letter to lure Omort into a trap Sabine knew the other side had mystickal prisons, entire islands that were inescapable Could they capture the deathless one?

Sabine stared at the script, her thoughts racing

"Bring e demon!" Omort commanded &039;I&039;ll send Rydstrom&039;s arms back to the Valkyrie!"

"No!" Sabine cried, her heart in her throat Oenerate the limbs, but the pain"You will not-"

The sudden hit took her across the face, blood spray­ing out from her mouth over the marble

Hettiah had attacked her? That cold, pure fury Sabine kneell swept through her Then came the bile, the nausea, that could only be allayed with violence Self-preservation, survival

A red haze covered her vision; Sabine spat more blood as Hettiah&039;s friends surrounded her

15

Rhydstrousted with himself One blow job and he&039;d been ready to capitulate everything Yes, it was the best one he&039;d ever received, but still