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Daru the twenty-foot-distant target He glanced down at Bran "You know, she could use a couple of Labrador re- trievers Unless I need a ave him an unreadable expression Jacob wondered if he&039;d learned his inscrutability from his Mistress He retrieved the arrow hiain, re- checked the arrow to ensure the closely tri was unmarred As he suspected, it was the launch mechanism As he ave a rowl Before Jacob could turn and seek as raising the dog&039;s hackles, the radio on his belt beeped, telling hiate The roof contractor wasn&039;t expected today, but he supposed a miracle could have occurred and they&039;d arrived a day early Of course, Bran typically didn&039;t react in a hostilewhile they were here, but Jacob harbored the suspicion that was purely an act for the dog&039;s personal amusement The wolfhound knew the difference between a threat to his Mistress and a visitor the way Jacob knew the difference between black and white Which hy his brow creased now, noting the dog&039;s rigid stance

He pulled on his sweatshirt and unclipped the radio "May I help you?" A pause, long enough that he almost repeated the question Before he could press the button, he heard a female voice speak hesitantly "My lord Carnal wishes to pay his respects to Lady Lyssa " Oh, bloody fucking hell He&039;d forgotten entirely Gideon&039;s visit had disrupted the week&039;s schedule While there was nothing to be concerned about, for the house ell prepared for guests, he would have preferred soht he&039;d met Carnal had been outside of the area mall The man had been the sick playmate of Lyssa&039;s late husband, Rex Carnal had cleverly played on Rex&039;s deht where Rex had tortured Lyssa and allowed Carnal to sodo to Lyssa, it was all part of the political games vampires played, but her reaction to Carnal&039;s appearance that night said her feelings about the situation ran much deeper As ex- traordinary as his Mistress was, she had difficulty accepting she could feel violated and revolted as much as any rape victim But then, victim would never be a label Lady Lyssa Wentworth would tolerate for herself Jacob now understood the reason for the pause on the radio Car- nal had expected Lyssa to answer and intended to speak to her di- rectly At the sound of Jacob&039;s voice, the vaed tactics andof course to speak to the hired help Which meant Carnal had not been certain Jacob would make it as her servant Well, he kne "Hold on onevisitors " It was just before sunset In another half hour it would be twi- light She ht not be up His lady was not necessarily aMorning person was not the right ter My lady? It was as easy as picturing her in histhe words, but it still aht beside hiiven hi in co she would simply look into his mind and pick up the situation like a snapshot The pause drew out He won- dered if she&039;d forgotten as well Of course, sometimes she relied on Jacob to remind her of her schedule, and he&039;d been woefully off his game since Gideon&039;s visit I&039;ll look forward to punishing you for that He rolled his eyes, even as he felt his groin tighten at the sultry implication of her words At this rate, that particular appendage of his was going to fall off His sense of hu coiven him an answer "Shall I send hiht get snapped at for interrupting her thoughts Know- ing how long a va considered rudeness, Carnalher blood with a cup of wine in his vehicle, anticipating at least a fifteen-, it could be longer, though nothing about Carnal suggested he was the patient sort In fact, Jacob had sensed fro froht they were entitled to a corner office, even though they&039;d quit high school and barely put the ti it beneath theht he could handle it better than anyone else, which er to those who actually did have ht underestiy to prove and earn his worth, he would lack the energy or cleverness to steal the title from someone else Do not fret, Jacob I never underestimate Carnal Or anyone, for that matter Show him to the main hallway There are no chairs there He will not be staying long But we must observe the ritual cour- tesy and share a drink He prefers brandy I wish h to be satisfied no fur- ther coain "Please proceed to the ate, he sprang onto one of the retaining walls, gaining a view through the screening of the crepe uar sedan with darkened s of course, probably specially treated to filter out the UV rays When the gate closed and the security field reengaged,Jacob dropped off the wall and headed for the front drive He wasn&039;t ex- actly a credit to his lady in his current dark jeans and Harvard sweatshirt, but it would have to do He wasn&039;t going to let this one out of his sight to primp Oh, Jacob? Yes, s in the garden shed Bran is not fond of Carnal As he reached the curve of the driveway, his step quickened, as much from his lady&039;s words as fro Lyssa&039;s mild comment was an understate was circling the car No, not just circling it Lunging up to slaerlike hulass as he atteet at the occupant behind it It at least told Jacob where Carnal was in the car The girl was apparently driving "Bran Bran!" When Jacob caught the dog&039;s collar and hauled hi fro on hirowl, show- ing his teeth, his eyes fierce, his concentration on the car unbroken Jacobresisted every step, try- ing to get loose The farther they got froled, until Jacob was strangling hi&039;s desperate need to protect My ladyBran Obey Her voice was sharp enough that it reverberated in Jacob&039;s ear- drurowl and allowed hih his posture made it clear he was unhappy about the situation Jacob wasn&039;t too happy about it, either The other dogs followed theot the at hi in distress

Jacob found it hard to turn his back on the animal When he returned to the car, he nodded, es- ture The door opened and Carnal stepped out, his expression irri- tated "A servant who cannot control a sirel doesn&039;t seem much of a boon to my lady Lyssa " Bran&039;s bloodline was far purer than anything Carnal could ever hope to have, but Jacob curbed the barb Not so much for diplomacy, but because he&039;d also known a lot of rity and value than the piece of garbage fouling Lyssa&039;s drive- ith his presence "I didn&039;t see you ju out of the car to take him on, and last time I checked, you&039;re an all-powerful vaazes with the vaht they&039;d first met, even when his Mistress had ordered him to lower his eyes He&039;d earned her wrath for the defiance, but he hadn&039;t regretted it, particularly later when he&039;d found out what Carnal had done to Lyssa Carnal&039;s lips drew back "You haven&039;t learned manners yet I shall speak to your Mistress about that " Jacob ignored him, circled to the other side of the car and opened the driver&039;s side door, finding he had to do so gently, for Carnal&039;s servant had a death grip on the handle "It&039;s okay; I put theirl looked up into his face, he bit back an oath, suddenly rehteen years old Perhaps barely past fifteen Nevertheless, he offered her a hand out of the car,of it "Melinda, stop being a sniveling coward and come here " She withdrew her hand from Jacob&039;s and went around the back of the car to walk obediently behind Carnal as Jacob led the women he seduces, then trapsSixteen- year-old runawayShe was a beautiful creature with pale white-gold hair, green eyes and a body far too lush and te legs Wearing a pair of tight hip-hugger leatherlike pants and a snug silken shirt under which she wore no bra, she ex- uded sexual provocation, a heady mixture with her obvious inno- cence A temptation to a man with a conscience, an open invitation to one without one That night at the mall, Carnal had referred to his "new" ser- vant, which told Jacob she was just as young as she appeared He was agreeing with Bran&039;s assess uncoirl If it wasn&039;t her, it would be another The Council set an age mini- le There was a curious deadness to his lady&039;s cohts Bring them to the hallway, Ja- cob I will deal with this and then we can be rid of them He could think of more effectivewhat he hoped was an iestured Carnal strode past hi ner vously, lips pursed together as she atteht her, trying to emulate the sexual confidence of a much older woman "My lady will meet with you in her main hall " He indicated the direction Carnal flicked a look at hio back to your duties " You wish, you prick "My lady has requested my attendance " Not exactly true, but she&039;d indicated he should make sure brandy and ere there, after all Carnal&039;s eyes glittered, his lip curling With a jerk he turned on his heel,headed for the hall Apparently he wanted toshepherded in like a supplicant, instead of being uest would have been Lyssa&039;s visitor had an inflated sense of his own ied it, Jacob was sure, so he knew it must have come from Rex It was possible Thomas hadn&039;t known all that had transpired to nificant after Tho, Tho the tall, dark-haired va fro that com- pelled his brother to hunt vampires practically vibrated off Carnal A barely restrained bloodlust, a low trigger point Jacob knew the only thing that stopped Carnal fro him was the fact he was here for other reasons, and Jacob was under Lady Lyssa&039;s protec- tion Vampires like Carnal were usually the easiest to kill, relatively speaking, because of their absolute conviction of their own superior- ity It made them careless, easy to set up Get hiht, he withdrew it He didn&039;t want his brother near Carnal without him to watch his back Never underestimate CarnalHis lady&039;s advice echoed in his lanced at Jacob sev- eral ti him a shy sh school girl attracting a boy&039;s attention Her s pace with her, his size and obviousto her Even so, she surprised hiers tracing a light pattern on his biceps He had to suppress the urge to remove her touch Perhaps the kindness he&039;d shown her at the car was the first she&039;d experienced at soine the type of groups Car- nal ran with He certainly didn&039;t want his head assaulted with such iers that held on to his arm had nails embellished with tiny flower stickers He felt sick "You&039;ll come to no harm in my lady&039;s house " They&039;d reached the ht pat before he extricated hio to the wine rack and uncork Lyssa&039;s favorite to breathe He lifted the brandy snifter from the side bar "My lord? A drink for you and your servant?" "She requires nothing " Carnal watched his servant with a gleam in his dark eyes Oddly, Melinda had followed Jacob and now stood as close as possible without ha his elbohile Carnal stood across the hallway She reached out again, her fingertips whispering against the side of Jacob&039;s body, along the line of his hip "Except perhaps you She&039;s an erotic little creature She&039;ll fuck any h Very er Suck on your cock as if she&039;s a babe with a thumb in her mouth " Jacob set the brandy snifter down harder on the side bar than he&039;d intended Melinda juled to n what could not be feigned Shelook However, she held her stance Probably because she knew there was a greater threat to her in the room than Jacob&039;s annoyance He had no idea what the hell was going on here If Carnal thought he could get his child servant to distract hih to leave him alone with his Mistress, the ploy was pitiful, transparent And re- volting "I&039;ll pour my own brandy, " Carnal said abruptly That was fine by Jacob, for he had no desire to wait on the crea- ture Hefor her Master "She see to have such advanced appetites " Jacob paced off several feet and crossed his ar Carnal under close scrutiny as he exalance "A teenager&039;s sex drive is far closer to a vampire&039;s appetite than an adult&039;s I can fuck a woman in her thirties to death in no ti is often tedious, it can also be veryIntriguing Teaching them about unnatural desires " He lifted a bottle, uncorked and opened it to sniff "Their horing to hold out against the craving for long Melinda is special in those areas You&039;ve not lived until you&039;ve watched her tears fall in delicious shas spread, her body on the brink of an orgas to have to kill his would need dinner in an hour Kill visiting va--then feed the dogs

Jacob stepped forward Carnal turned away, h from Melinda&039;s indrawn breath, Jacob knew she didn&039;t The brief flare of hope in her eyes, quickly extinguished, nearly choked hi, though Jacob suspected he clearly remembered she&039;d rescinded her hus- band&039;s perht I heard you coh of course you&039;re such a delicate, quiet creature you&039;ve probably been standing there for quite a while, listening toservant on our ways " Jacob turned His lady stood at the end of the hall, fralassthere St Francis of As- sisi raised his hands to offer food to over a hundred differently col- ored birds hovering in the sky around hilass outlined thehts positioned to allow enjoy black slacks with a sliold blouse, her hair up, she looked tailored, self-contained Even fro around her Restless Dangerous An elegant diamond bracelet draped the thin bones of her wrist Diamond studs adorned her double-pierced ears A vampire had to pierce her body each time she chose to wear post jewelry, since once the posts were res healed co Fe to hiht him to a new level of admiration When she inclined her head to their visitor, it was a cold gesture Jacob couldn&039;t hear any thoughts frohtly locked down, but his intuition sensed those currents of en- ergy circling in the air of the roo thunderstorm Carnal had moved toward her Vampire rules of courtesy re- quired a distance of ten feet unless the higher-ranking vampire in- vited the other vampire within that personal space boundary Jacob noted that Carnal stopped at the proper distance and then took one additional step, as if he werethe rule

Or her Lyssa did not remove her attention from his face "What is your business inat the h, h to acquaint me withso of talent and resources over the past year " She studied hiht to it that pressed in on Jacob, made him itch for a weapon Carnal cocked his head "While I a the ritual courtesies you de dinner with ed " Carnal&039;s back was to Jacob, so he saw the slight lift of the shoul- der When the vampire , cordial "Since you have no immediate need of my company, then, allow me to pour your wine and we&039;ll colanced at the bottle "Your preferred vintage has changed When Rex lived, you preferred rape juice " "It&039;s made with an exotic flower, only available in one place in Asia " As far as Jacob could tell, the only part of Lyssa&039;s facewas her lips, an eerie effect "The bloo season Exactly one hundred bottles have been rows in the -Sun I studied with hiht me much about patience Inner silence Balance " Carnal paused Jacob shifted so he could see the angle of focus between the two of them As she reached the last sentence, Lyssa&039;s pronunciation had becos Her eyes glowed in the dim recesses of that end of the hall While Jacob&039;s section was modestly lit, she&039;d apparently purposely put herself in shadows "There is one pure note of silence within ourselves, " she continued

"So powerful that if we stepped inside it, we could blink our eyes and save the world from evil Or destroy it utterly, like the soul of an un- natural creature never otten Insignificant Never to be rehter " Melinda had crept to Jacob&039;s side again He couldn&039;t bla comfort Thefroers touched his hand at his side, linked with his fingers Her breast was pressing against his arainst his buttock Her breath eet and soft on his shoulder While her physical actionsabout her, nothing else did Melinda had no natural sexual aggression Either Carnal had her trained to act like a nyht Jacob stupid enough to fall for the obvious distraction But it made no sense For Carnal to attempt to harm Lyssa in her own ho to put several drops of blood in Lyssa&039;s glass He reached for the bottle of wine as it drained into the bowl There As Carnal picked up the wine bottle, the finger next to the pricked finger shifted a e Jacob narrowed his gaze In the diht of the hall, he knew the eyes could play tricks, but his intuition made him sure Carnal splashed several ss of wine efficiently into the glass "My lady " Jacob stepped forward, shrugging away froaze flickered to him, then back to Carnal "Your servant speaks out of turn, ers as if su a pet "Melinda, come here We shall prove our intentions to Lady Lyssa When they are proven to be honorable"--he gave Jacob a scathing look--"I hope you&039;ll give ht to chastise hi without hesitation but soid protest in the lines of her body, he curled his hand around her nape, tugging on her hair

"My little nymph Sweet child Try this exotic wine Lady Lyssa says holds the secrets of the universe It will taste like the best candy Just like you " In a blink, his voice had becouise even astep into a different reality As Gideon said, he easily could coax an iirl to hi to her Obediently she put her lips to the cup, tipping her head back when he exerted pressure on her chin with his thuave it to her in one draught It was not much more than a quarter cup, but still too much for the one shich he forced her to consu sole with the disco down her throat into her sto his words to him An attempt to intimidate or threaten, he supposed He re in hiirl away fro Her preternatural stillness at the end of the hallas just flat-out disturbing "The Church wasn&039;t allowed to invade the body, cut it open with interrogation techniques, " Carnal continued "That entirely unspiri- tual practice was reserved to the secular authorities Therefore, if the Church couldn&039;t obtain a confession their way, they ht turn the person over to the local law and see if it could be sliced out of theical lass aside, he turned his attention back to the lady of the house "A waste of your beautiful and rare wine, Lady Lyssa I hope you punish hi out, he collected the drops of wine that had escaped from the corner of Melinda&039;s mouth Well trained, she didn&039;t jerk back, but her eyes ide andpain He jerked his head "Go and stand next to her arrogant servant while I prepare my lady another cup " Melinda turned andfro the asn&039;t more potent

As thin as she was, Jacob doubted Carnal let her eat h steroid-laden meat to maintain her breast cup size Carnal placed two more drops of his blood in the cup and poured another splash of wine, this tierated, open movements "So your servant doesn&039;t have another attack of paranoia, " he ex- plained ly "Perhaps he would behave better if you castrated him You don&039;t need an inferior human cock when I&039;d be happy to offer mine A mortal can hardly be expected to have the stamina to please you " Lyssa watched all of them as if they were part of a play she&039;d paid money to attend, a silent member of an audience cloaked in dark- ness Carnal took several steps forward again Paused at the invisible ten-foot barrier and extended the cup "My lady?" The night she&039;d marked Lord Brian, the ritual had been far more intimate She&039;d taken the blood directly fro Jacob as he stood silently behind her chair only a few steps away But she&039;d neededin her territory and was under her protection For Carnal, all that was re- quired were these few drops in a cup to allow her to h her territory It was an act of surety, part of the wholevampire interaction, a Book of Shadows embraced by each new Council When Jacob reviewed it under Thoe, there were tier va how quickly vampires could revert to unthinkable brutality, he&039;d coenius of it It had been surprisingly effective in helping vaovern their bloodlust, for it itype aristocratic hauteur on their personal interactions that appealed to them This was a simple, standard ritual In thea toll Yet as she stared at that glass, Ja- cob sensed so as unstable as an atom exposed to forces that could cause it to split and become nu- clear

"My lady?" Carnal&039;s broas raised, a slight smile upon his lips He took a step forward, then another Coaze rose, her eyes dark pools holding the capability of destruction Jacob couldn&039;t tell if it was outgoing, where sheher vital or- gans, destructive to herself If she wasn&039;t so da hi was off At her lack of response to Carnal, the way she studied hiht, rather than a physical threat directly before her, it finally cahts from him, there was an essence to her that was accessible, touchable But it was ht nooman who had been violated shut dohen con- fronted by her violator Instinctively, all her defenses would be raised against anything ainst attack froe that hat she was doing, Jacob kneas a survival response "Don&039;t, " she said through stiff lips, raising a hand to stop Carnal&039;s forwardhi, sensing a threat his instincts assured him was there Formalities be damned; she needed hi whatever Lyssa had been about to say Jacob spun in time to see Melinda drop to her knees and col- lapse on her side, her body convulsing, fingers clutching at the air, throat working She bucked to her back, her head and heels the only parts of her touching the ground before she flung herself back on her side as if a ed to her, yanking the radio from his belt But it was already too late Before he could hit the eency nu in her throat, her eyes glazing over Foaathered at her lips "Heredients to hasten the process, " Carnal remarked Jacob raised his head, torn between horror and fury as the vampire studied his dead servant with indifference

"In a va another valanced over his shoulder at Lyssa, who remained motionless, her pupils wide and dark in the shadows "There&039;s also an aphrodisiac h pain to blend with the pleasure of arousing a body restrained by its own ht fi nd it enjoyable, as well as appreciate the devious nature of the ploy I doubt any of your other suitors have been as creative " He lifted a shoulder, glanced contemptuously at Melinda "Unfortu- nately, what is pleasurable for us is fatal to a huly short tihter " Heabout human death is the release of the bowels and bladder However, her blood is still warift to you As you know, young blood is quite sweet Let littered at the iers When Lyssa&039;s attention rose froirl back to him in reac- tion, he san toJacob a curt look "Step aside, servant " Jacob stood up Lifting his arm, he fired the arrow frootten the dah the hellspawn&039;s dark heart As it was, it lodged in his shoulder, two inches too high, but close enough to wipe that sht work and then Carnal was on hi hot on him, the vamp&039;s hand on his neck In the same flash of time, Jacob fell to the floor Carnal was now on the opposite side of the room, his body plowed into the masonry of the hallall Sheetrock caved in an outline around his body, dust rising around him Lyssa had hit the side bar in thethe thu glass on the wood floor next to the carpet runner Jacob scrambled to his feet

"Stay where you are " Her voice was cool, authoritative Whatever had held her frozen several one as if it had never existed His lady was fully present, giving him a cursory look that told hiaze on the vaainst the ith one hand on his throat "He&039;s dead, Lyssa, " Carnal snarled, coughing against her grip "I&039;ll kill him where he stands " "He is my servant, to reward or punish as I see fit Marked by me and therefore rip, for Carnal gagged against it "You may seek what recompense the Council feels I owe you for the insult, but they&039;ll laugh at you for your presu, inexperienced servant took it as a threat upon my life Such loyalty is a boon Jacob used to be a vampire hunter, Carnal It is one of his many talents " "I was nearly successful in rowled When he reached over Lyssa&039;s hold, she didn&039;t interfere as he yanked out the arroith a grunt, let it fall to the floor Jacob wished he&039;d poi- soned the tip Carnal made a visible attempt to rein back his temper, despite the fact she continued to hold him pinned "I knehether your servant had perverse tastes or an overinflated sense of honor, the little creature could prove a useful distraction His focus is con- siderable Your choice is perhaps better than I first thought But he&039;s a guard dog, Lyssa, not sub Too alpha and temperamental

"He&039;s not the one in this room I consider inferior to his station " Her words dropped into the air like ice Jacob felt the coldness to his marrow "Ten feet of space, elaborate rituals of courtesy to try to pretend we aren&039;t e are, " Carnal hissed "They&039;re sheep for our slaugh- ter All ofelse, I do not fathoave him that His lady&039;s heat had turned the hallway into one of the lower regions of Hell Watching her and Carnal closely, Jacob knelt by Melinda&039;s still and lifeless body Pick- ing up one of her hands, he verified the lack of pulse

"You were part of Rex&039;s life that he forced into mine, " Lyssa said to Carnal, her voice flat "I have no desire to share a conversation with you, let alone anything else You&039;re not welcolass on the carpet runner, the various spilled wines and liquors staining it, and shifted her attention to the young woo back to your own territory, taking the shortest route out of et to the Midwest, you&039;ll circle around to the west or fly If you coain, I&039;ll kill you " She dropped hiing forward But even with his ability to anticipate what Carnal was about to do, he was nohi hi so he ended up on his belly on the carpet and wood His face pressed against the shards of broken glass while she pinned his neck with one hand and held the arrow he&039;d dropped against his back "You think you have the power and strength to woohis shirt and finding skin Kept going,over the huainst a lower, far more vulnerable area "Perhaps I should fuck you with this until you bleed on yourself, over and over Bind you in a stock you couldn&039;t escape and watch for my pleasure Would you like that? Would you?" Her voice ratcheted up into a snarl, startling in its abrupt jerk from silky murmur to abrasive threat Carnal flinched as she tore the back seam of his trousers with the tip "No No, my lady II&039;ll leave I concede You are far above my station I should not have presu ripple over her skin, soust and desire It startled him, for the menace of it crawled over his own skin and stoked the room&039;s already uncomfortable heat As she blinked and the wall sconces reflected cri was a ith her own bloodlust Since she&039;d been alive for so rip on her, but he saw it now

The desire to rip, destroy andin the blood of her enemy Carnal must have felt it, too, because at the end of his admission his voice had beco his lady would lose her infamous control and tear him to pieces, even if she vanquished them all Carnal cried out in sudden fear as she jerked his into his neck Took a scant s and then withdreiping her ht I eak, " she hissed "That night had nothing to do with you You were never his equal, never more than his toy You were his bitch, because I wouldn&039;t be " Carnal htened cat It subsided entirely when Lyssa added her knee to the s turn to get out of my territory, I will hunt you down I will chain you inside a coffin with a handful of nettles stuffed in your mouth, your nostrils"--she flicked the a flinch--"and in your ass I&039;ll tie them in knots around your cock Then I won&039;t release you until I can stoht of you Which may mean forever Your screams for mercy will be music to my ears But not as much as your silence, when you realize you&039;re not ih for anyone to interfere with , touching everything within distance of it Her whisper echoed in the hallway, pricking even Jacob&039;s boith fear Sheinto hisher desire was to do exactly as she&039;d said But in the tih he was not sure what he was intending to do, she was stand- ing back at the end of the hallway Eerily in the same pose she&039;d held when they first saw her, haloed by the gentle St Francis offering food to the birds Slowly Carnal rose to his knees, his frightened eyes and the streaks of blood caused by the glass the only color in his face

He got to his feet aardly Gone was the ness He kept his eyes down as he backed away, and there was a tremor in his hands When he turned toward his dead servant, he came toe-to-toe with Jacob "No, " Jacob said "You won&039;t touch her " Submission to his lady apparently did not mean submission to a human servant&039;s insult Carnal backhanded him Or at least Jacob assumed that hat had happened, for it felt like he was struck in the face by a battering ra He landed hard on his back nearly twenty feet from Melinda&039;s body Rolled to his feet at the saed istered it, but she blasted it into his brain the way she&039;d done with Bran On your knees, Jacob Facing me "My lady--" "Now Obey ret it in ways you cannot even i with the effort, he dropped to one knee and bowed his head, though confusion throbbed in its clash with the force of the rage welling in him "You will leave your servant with us Her blood is ed with red as she leveled it upon Carnal "Get out Now I should have killed you the first tiht you home " With a snarl, Carnal spun on his heel and stalked toward the end of the hallway "And Carnal?" When she snapped it out, Jacob had the satisfac- tion of seeing hih the expression he turned to her was sullen "My lady?" "In two h tiet in your car and drive it off my property Just Don&039;t tarry " As the va his departure froan to raise his head

"Stay as you are Stupid, foolishas he listened to her ive you permission or I swear I&039;ll break your neck I&039;m out of patience with all of you " In the corner of his eye, he saw her kneel at Melinda&039;s side She took the girl&039;s lifeless hand and studied the nails, her own perfectly ht as she passed her fingertips over the flowers preferred by the fancy of a child He didn&039;t knohat he&039;d do if Lyssa did in fact choose to drink froirl&039;s forehead, closed her eyes Wiped the spittle from the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief she had in the pocket of her slacks "Do you know John 14:27?" Of all the things he&039;d expected her say, that wasn&039;t one of them When Jacob shook his head, she spoke the words soft ly " `Peace I leave with you, ive you Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid &039; " She raised her gaze, looked at him then "There are several trans- lations of the Bible in my library, as you well know Take her deep into the forest preserve and bury her Say that over her grave and whatever else you think she&039;ll need for peace, though I think release from Carnal&039;s ser vice satisfies that adequately on its own " He struggled to get his"ButHer faht her fro for vampires So on a firstborn It&039;s an old va a firstborn into service, utilizing the trade skills and resources of the family " "No one will look for her " Jacobbetter than to offer it as a question His lady couldn&039;t give him an answer he&039;d want to hear Humans were expendable in the vaested it? Hadn&039;t his brother left hi? She will never view you as an equal Even his lady had emphasized it inwoman like a stray cat they&039;d found on the side of the road An act of compassion for certain, but all they would do A hurave, the death challenged only if the Master or Mis- tress was offended by it "The grave does not need to be unmarked, Jacob Mark it any way you wish " She picked up his thought, of course At this moment, he could almost hate her "In your world, I have no value except as your slave Your prop- erty " As she studied him in her dispassionate way, he couldn&039;t help but notice she kept her hand on the girl&039;s cheek, stroking her teined her daughter growing up to be married, a mother, someone with a successful ca- reer So places "Yes, Jacob, " Lyssa said at last "And that truth just saved your life "