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"So I heard I also heard you did what you could"

"Tell that to the girl Banan Ryce took He wanted a huainst me, so he took one And he probably picked this particular one because she was beautiful and blond" I paused There wasn’t any easy way to say this "Banan Ryce likes blondes--a lot"

"I know" Mychael’s voice was carefully e we can to find her as quickly as possible"

"Who’s we?" I asked bluntly

"The Guardians and the city watch"

"He took her through a mirror Good luck"

"There are several likely locations for an exitchecked"

"And if you don’t find it--or her?"

"We’ll expand our search as far as necessary"

"Does your city watch have any seekers?"

"They do"

"Are they any good?"

If my question offended him, he didn’t show it "Yes, they are"

I looked at Mychael; he looked at h Mychael knehat I was thinking, and what I wanted to do I felt directly responsible for that girl’s kidnapping and whatever was happening to her now, and I wanted to be the one to find her Mychael kne good a seeker I was He also knew that erous people on the island As paladin, Mychael wasn’t about to let ; I could see it in his eyes

The only sound was the ice clinking in Justinius Valerian’s glass "Yes, we do think you’re dangerous"

I could addto Justinius Valerian’s list of talents

"What I did with that stage today was all me, no help from the rock," I told them point-blank "Just hred I was coe was more than an assassination attempt for the two of you; it was an audition for me Soot what they wanted Banan said I performed perfectly and that he had a happy client"

"You’re sure you didn’t use the Saghred?" Justinius asked

I snorted "Positive I didn’t get dizzy, fall down, and throw up When I chased Banan Ryce into that courtyard, the Saghred offered to help Insistently I told it I didn’t want its help" I looked at Mychael "The Saghred’s wide-awake I thought it was bound"

"It is" His lips were set in a gri"

"Before Miss Benares took on the Nightshades?" Justinius asked him

I didn’t like that question, or what it implied about my future

"I checked the containot a report frohred was spellbound and quiet"

Justinius leaned back in his chair The only sound in the rooh," he told Mychael "We need ht eyes narrowed as he looked at htshades want you where they can get you And Eauis is your papa"

I took a shallow breath "That hits the high spots"

The Saghred was also known by its pet name, Thief of Souls, which prettysouls and sometimes the bodies they came in One of those souls trapped inside was uis He had been the Saghred’s protector, until the Saghred decided to turn its protector into its next meal

"He’s in there?" Justinius asked

I nodded

"Has he been talking to you?"

"Sooblin and the high priest of the Khrynsani, an ancient goblin secret society and , Sathrik Mal’Salin But most of all, Sarad Nukpana was a first-rate psychopath Nukpana and his boss wanted to get their hands on the Saghred and bring back the good old days of annihilating arhred, but a sha like being a diseeance He didn’t want me dead, just tor of whiskey Fro better by the second

He set the glass down "Sarad Nukpana’s not someone I’d want in my head"

"No one asked what I wanted"

"And you want e that"

"It’d be nice if you could help"

Justinius straightened in his chair "My not-so-illustrious predecessors didn’t have any luck turning that rock to dust, but then I like to think I’e than they were"

"Do you have any immediate ideas?"