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He lunged

Viktor countered, deflecting the jab, sliding his lance across Malone’s, angling doard, then twisting back

Malone held tight and deflected the maneuver

Viktor’s broas covered in sweat Malone, too, ar less than thirty feet away He decided the brazierswith Viktor, drawing his opponent closer Each hearth stood on three-legged iron stands, elevated about four feet off the floor

Just unstable enough for his purposes

Viktor kept co Malone’s lead

NI PRESSED THE EDGE OF THE BLADE INTO PAU’S NECK THE OLD h unarmed, worried Ni

He kept his attention on them

“You can both learn soe,” Pau said

Tang seee”

“Did I tell you to kill Jin Zhao?” Pau asked “He was a brilliant geocherandfather Harmless Yet you arrested and beat him into a coma Then you had him falsely convicted and shot while he lay unconscious in his hospital bed Does that exhibit courage?”

Tang’s shock at the rebuke was obvious

“When you trapped rats on Sokolov’s stoe? When you destroyed Qin Shi’s library, how e did that require?”

“I have done nothing but faithfully serve you,” Tang declared

“Did I tell you to burn that round in Antwerp? One of our brothers died in that fire” Tang said nothing

“And you, Minister Ni,” Pau said “How e is required to slit an old man’s neck?”

“Not much, so it should be an easy matter for me”

“You sell yourself short,” Pau said “In e of those killers It is si here, as two men confront each other Both came here totally unaware of what awaited thee”

CASSIOPEIA COULD SEE THAT COTTON WAS DRAWING VIKTOR toward the brazier She debated whether to intervene, but she commanded only one arrow The robed man unconscious on the floor beside her carried no more

Revealing her presence noould be counterproductive

She had one shot, so it had to count

MALONE KNEW HE WAS CLOSE TO THE HEAT HE COULD HEAR snapping coals behind him as he fended off another thrust from Viktor’s lance

He needed a moment, so he swept his spear around in a wide arc, which forced Viktor to grab the shaft with two hands, countering, blocking the blow In the rip and prepared a strike of his own, Malone sla the copper vessel

Hot coals spilled across the floor, hissing and s

Viktor cowered back, caught off guard

Malone used the tip of his spear to pluck one of the coals from the floor

He slung it toward Viktor, who sidestepped the white-hot projectile

Malone speared another hot coal and this ti the ember tohere the other men stood

NI WATCHED AS MALONE TOSSED ONE OF THE COALS THEIR way The s’s head and disappeared into the shelves behind him Silks within one of the bins vaporized fro before his eyes

EIGHTY

MALONE TOSSED THE SPEAR ASIDE, FACED VIKTOR, AND ALLOWED his black mood to envelop him “We finish this now”

Viktor did not hesitate He lost his weapon, too “I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time”

They sprang into each other, both landing punches Viktor’s caught Malone near the left tehts

He lashed out with his leg, catapulting Viktor, buying the ht jab into Viktor’s jaw

A vicious kick to his lower leg twisted Malone sideways

He absorbed a couple of blows, drawing Viktor closer Before a third punch could be landed, he popped Viktor’s throat, then slae

The thin air sliced his lungs like razor blades

He advanced on Viktor, as cout, his face contorted in rage

“I’ to kill you, Malone”

CASSIOPEIA HEARD VIKTOR’S DECLARATION EVERY NERVE IN his body seeed into the hall intent on a confrontation Cotton seeht

She was careful to stay behind the pillar, out of sight

A sharp cry from belo her attention

MALONE HEARD A YELL AS VIKTOR’S SHOULDER SLAMMED INTO his chest Moether they pounded into the hard floor and slid

So popped in his own shoulder

Searing pain shot through his brain and heat surged at the back of his head He s hair

His own