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"No wonder Benja at the underground hts now?" I had yet to see theby," Hamish replied

"Fernando will decide when to send them into the tunnels As Marcus’sFernando with a nod

"Actually, it’s ainst the snow

"Marcus!" I pushedme "What’s happened to Rebecca and Philip?

Where are they?"

"Nothing has happened The twins are at Sept-Tours with Sarah, Phoebe, and three dozen knights--all of them handpicked for their loyalty to the de Cleration Miriam and Chris are there, too" Marcus tookfor news Not when I could be helping to free ht need ht Mattheould need a doctor--a doctor who understood vampires and how to heal theh Marcus’s words had helpednormal

"He’s fine, too," Marcus said firht when I told hi of a hellcat when provoked She threatened to keep Jack froht up He never lets the child out of his sight

Jack says it’s his job to protect his godson, no h your plan"

Fernando went over the operation in detail: where the knights would be positioned, when they would lass, Baldwin, Hah it all sounded flawless, I was still worried

"What is it, Diana?" Marcus asked, sensing y relies on the element of surprise," I said "What if Gerbert has already tipped off Knox and Benjaht have decided she was safer froain Knox’s trust"

"Don’t worry, Auntie," Gallowglass assuredon a stor on Isola della Stella The Knights of Lazarus have theet off the island"

Gallowglass’s words did little to lessenMatthew and putting an end to Benjaood

"Ready to exato do would help keep hly visible black cloak for a pale gray parka that blended into the snow, Baldwin and Gallowglass tookdistance of Benjamin’s compound In silence I took stock of the wards that protected the place There were a few alarer spell that I suspected would unleash soration or storned to do nothing more than delay an attacker until a proper defense could be mounted Knox had used spells that were complicated, but they were old and worn, too It wouldn’t take uarded

"I’ll need two hours and Janet," I whispered to Baldwin as ithdrew

Together Janet and I freed the compound from its invisible barbed-wire perimeter There was one alarm spell we had to leave in place, however It was linked directly back to Knox, and I feared that even tinkering with the knots would alert hier," Janet said, wiping a tired hand across her eyes

"Too clever for his own good His spells were lazy," I said "Too h threads"

"When this is all over, we are going to have several evenings by the fireside where you explain what you just said," Janet warned

"When this is over, and Matthew is home, I’ll happily sit by the fireside for the rest ofpresence reo," I said briskly, nodding toward the silent Gael

Gallowglass insisted we eat soed to sn some tea and two bites of hot- radiator thawed ular an to sound like warning bells Finally Gallowglass announced that the hour had come ere to meet up with Marcus’s army

He took us to a prewar house on the outskirts of town Its owner had been happy to hand over the keys and head to ware for a hefty cash vacation fund and the pro roof would be fixed when he returned

The vahts ere asseh I did recognize a few faces froed of line and quietly ready for whatever awaited them beloas struck by the fact that these arriors who had fought in modern world wars and revolutions, as well as medieval Crusades They were some of the finest soldiers who had ever lived, and like all soldiers they were prepared to sacrifice their lives for soave his final orders while Gallowglass opened a e and a rickety ladder that led down into darkness

"Godspeed," Gallowglass whispered as the first of the varound below

We waited while the knights chosen to destroy Benja party did their work Still nervous that soht respond by taking Matthew’s life, I stared fixedly at the earth betweenThere was no way to receive any progress reports For all we knew, Marcus’s knights could have ht have sent out ht have sent out none

"This is the hell of war," said Gallowglass "It’s not the fighting or even the dying that destroys you It’s the wondering"

No h it felt like days--Giles pushed open the door His shirt was stained with gore There was no way to deterht be traces of Benjamin’s now-dead children He beckoned us forward

"Clear," he told Gallowglass "But be careful The tunnels echo, so watch your step"

Gallowglass handed Janet down and thenladder with its rusted ive us away It was so dark in the tunnel that I couldn’t see the faces of the vaht us, but I could s the tunnel with as much speed as our need for silence allowed Given the darkness, I was glad to have a vampire on each arm to steer me around the bends and would have fallen several times without the assistance of their keen eyes and quick reflexes

Baldwin and Fernando aiting for us at the intersection of three tunnels Two blood-spattered ave off a faint glow marked where Benjamin’s children had met their death

"We covered the heads and bodies with quicklime to mask the scent," Fernando said "It won’t eliminate it completely, but it should buy us solass asked

"Nine," Baldwin replied One of his hands was completely clean and bore a sword, the other was caked with substances I preferred not to identify The contrast made my stomach heave

"How many are still inside?" Janet murmured

"At least another nine, probably more" Baldwin didn’t look worried at the prospect "If they’re anything like this lot, you can expect thehters, too," Fernando said

"As expected," Gallowglass said, his tone easy and relaxed "We’ll be waiting for your signal to move into the compound Good luck, Auntie"