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"The Age of Science had terrible weapons," Ronnell said "Weapons that could kill hundreds, even thousands of reroth with us"

The Painted Man ignored the comment "Euchor will seek to rebuild them?"

"Thevast refineries and lectric power," Ronnell said "But there is much that can still be built by any e That book," he pointed to the volume in the Painted Man’s hands, "is a detailed account of those weapons and how they are built Take it"

The Painted Man raised an eyebrow "What will Euchor do when he learns it’s gone?"

"He will groroth, and deesturing to the rows of glass bookcases Glass the Painted Man had etched ards hiaze "When the Warders’ Guild began charging glass, I had theht Your wards made those cases indestructible Another miracle"

"You mustn’t tell anyone who I was," the Painted Man said "You would endanger everyone I ever knew"

Ronnell nodded "It is enough for now that I know"

If he hadn’t told Ronnell who he was, Mery likely would have, but he had never expected the strict man to honestly believe that he, Arlen Bales, was the Deliverer The Painted Man scowled as he put the book in his satchel

It was the last night of the new moon when theprince could only rise on the three darkest nights of the cycle, but it picked up its quarry’s trail quickly, following a lingering scent in the air, even days after his passing It was an intriguing scent--not quite hued mimic, the round The walls were powerfully warded, but there were large gaps in the lines of ed drone, unable to see the net unless it activated,prince the pattern was clear, and it guided its h into the city proper

Windoere shuttered closed, streets dark and empty The mind deic, but the lided by so quickly that they could find no draw Clu prince avoided theht step around a puddle

They passed through the city following the invisible path in the air They paused at a great inner keep, but a sniff at the gate made it clear it was not their final destination Next they ca whose wards were so powerful, the coreling prince hissed as it felt their pull even from a distance There was usually at least one such place at the center of every breeding ground, and they were places best avoided, especially since his quarry had not re

The trail led at last to another all, this one tightly crafted and without flaw The wards were not keyed to their castes, but the coreling prince knew they would still activate and cause great pain should it or its mimic cross the net The demon was forced to disable some of the wards so they could pass the barrier safely

They drifted silently up to the dwelling, and in the , the ht of its quarry at last Those with him were dull and colorless creatures, but the one had warded his flesh, and glowed fiercely with stolenprince was thousands of years old, a creature of caution, consideration, and decisive action This deep in the breeding ground, it could not summon drones to attack, and theseen the human, there was no question he must be killed, but there would be better chances in the co cycles when he was less protected, and there were unanswered questions about his power to answer first

It estures of the huuards?’ " Ragen said with a deep, rich laugh "I thought Euchor was going to burst a vein right there! I told you to act like a king, not a suicidal Krasian!"