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The following evening, as soon as night fell, Assail, son of Assail, stalked through his glass house, heading for the garage As he passed by the lass that had been replaced back in the fall

The repair was neat as a pin To the point that one could not tell that anything violent had ever transpired

The saone down that horrid night Even as calendar days churned by, and seasons shifted, andwhat had happened, no way of patching up that mess

Not that Xcor wanted to, he supposed

Indeed, tonight he was finally going to get a sense of exactly how ly slow, it was ridiculous

Initializing the alare, locked up, and walked around the Jaguar The Range Rover on the far side had huge tires with clawlike treads - his newest purchase having finally been delivered last week: As h he were driving a greased pig on ice

Once inside the heavily e door and waited; then he reversed, K-turned, and waited again until the door was down

Elan, son of Larex, was a right little shit, the kind of aristocrat who truly set Assail&039;s teeth on edge: tooand too much money had insulated him too utterly froing his ithout the trappings of his station than a babe out in the cold

And yet by the exigencies of fate, that e than he orthy of: Following the raids, he was the highest-ranking non-Brother on the Council, but for Rehvenge - as so entangled with the Brotherhood, he er strapped on his chest

Therefore, Elan was the one calling tonight&039;s little "unofficial" get-together

Which would again not be including Rehvenge And which was going to likely be about an insurrection

Not that sohbrow as Elan would call it such No, traitors ore cravats and silk socks tended to couch their reality in e naught

As Assail sped along, the trip to Elan&039;s house took a good forty-five here all salted and the streets plowed Naturally, he could have saved hiot out of hand, if he were to be injured and unable to disappear himself, he needed to make sure he had effective cover and escape

He had taken for granted safety only once, and long ago Never again And, indeed, the Brotherhood were highly intelligent There was no telling whether this nascent cabal would be raided tonight or not - especially if Xcor were to racious brick house, Victorian in derivation, with lacelike orkits every peak and corner Located in a sleepy little hamlet of only thirty thousand humans, it was set well back fro down one side of the property

As he got out, he did not fasten the tortoiseshell buttons on the front of his caloves Nor did he do up his double-breasted suit jacket

His guns were close to his heart, and he wanted access

Closing in on the front door, his fine black boots clapped over the shoveled ay and his breath left his ht as a halogen light and fat as a dinner plate, the lack of clouds and hu its true power to rain down from the heavens

The drapes on all the s had been pulled, so he could not see how many others had arrived, but it would not surprise hi dematerialized to the site

I the doorbell with his bare hand, the entry was i at the hips

"Master Assail Welcome - may I take your coat?"

"No, you may not"

There was a hesitation - at least until Assail cocked a brow at the servant "Ah, but of course, my lord - please come this way"

Voices, all of them male, flooded his ears as the cinna in behind the butler, he allowed hi rooany furniture as per the period of the house And in and a upon the host, their trim forms dressed in suits with ties or cravats at the throat

There was a noticeable dip in conversation as hethat at least some of them did not trust hiroup

His host broke away and approached with a sood of you to co en? He should have taken your coat - "

"I prefer to leave it on And I shall take that seat over there" He nodded to the one corner that would provide thestarted soon"

"Indeed With your arrival, ait only one more"

Assail narrowed his eyes on the subtle line of sweat that dotted the skin between the male&039;s nose and upper lip Xcor had chosen the correct pawn, he thought as he went over and eased himself into his chair

A sharp draft announced the arrival of the final guest