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A tears from her eyes "Those weren't feral furies," she said "They were yours, disguised"

"Obviously, Cursor Honestly, do you think I would stand about cohtest disturbance would result in erous personal knowledge aboutan assault?" He paused reflectively "I regret that I couldn't tell you or your Count what I was doing, but it would rather have defeated the point"

"You risked our lives," Auards And you didn't even know that she would show herself"

"Incorrect," he replied He knelt to begin picking up the unconscious Bernard "Invidia has an acute talent for sensing weakness and exploiting it"

There was a hissing sound, and a slender sword, its blade a shaft of vord green fire, abruptly eed froroin Attis screa himself away from the blade, which cut its way free of his body with a sizzling, hissing wail He only barely ed to stumble aside as a three-foot circle of stone roof exploded upward and outward

A figure eed fro the blazing green blade in its hand It was bald, its scalp burned black Anized Invidia if not for the quivering, pulsing, agonizedto her over her heart "I do kno to exploit weakness," she hissed, her voice a rasping croak, "such as your insufferable tendency to gloat after a victory, Attis"

Attis lay on the rooftop, white as a sheet His right hand twitched in what sees were lih Citizenry employed almost always cauterized wounds Only the fact that he was propped up against the roof 's stone ri supine

His left hand ed with a paper envelope He flicked it weakly across the distance to Invidia, and it landed touching her feet "For you Love what you've done with your hair"

Invidia bared her teeth in a smile Blood ran from her burned lips Her teeth and the whites of her eyes were eerie against the unbroken black scorching of her face "And what is this?"

"Your copy of the divorce papers"

"How thoughtful"

"Necessary I couldn't legally be rid of you until I had served them"

Invidia's s as its flames caressed the cool air "You're rid ofbow, his face a h"

"For either of us," she purred

There was a raptor's cry and a small falcon of white-hot fire ha in an instant into a blazing wall between her and Attis

Aaze rose to the skies, where half a dozen fliers, the weapons of each and every one of the into a dive that would carry theular wedge, and Placidus Aria led the way, burning sword in hand, the heht

Attis began to let out weak, choking, scornful laughter