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Chapter 27
Royce, a Scion of the Lorica and a certified pain in the ass, peered around a cubicle, then stepped into our path His cheek was criss-crossed with fresh, newly-healing scars, the underside of one eye still bruised
“Royce,” I said
So he’d made it out of the Prism after all I didn’t knohether to feel disappointment or relief He was a major asshole
, yes, but I wasn’t sure he deserved a bloody death at the hands of the red sector’s prisoners Still, the way he leered at e my mind on the matter pretty quick
“Dustin Graves I see you’ve brought friends”
Sterling bared his fangs Sam remained stoic as ever, but the sudden radiance from his tattoos spoke volumes Carver muttered under his breath, a curse, perhaps, or a new spell
“This tiht some friends of my own, too”
From around corners or inside cubicles, in such a way as to very conveniently box us in, appeared twoMona from the Prism I didn’t need to be told that all four were Hands
“If you join us,” Carver said, “if you help us retrieve your colleague, then no harm will come to you”
“The way that no har at the unconscious, bloodied bodies of Comstock Media’s e but to seek power for power’s sake I aders to his forehead, his eyes scanning “No fatalities Quite impressive”
“We do things differently,” I said “We don’t just burn down an entire warehouse full of corpses to hide the evidence”
“And ould you have ine the headlines” Royce tilted his head, sticking his hands in his coat pockets The others sank into guarded stances, watching him warily What if he had a wand on him, or some other device? “Weren’t you a Hound, Graves? Back when you worked for us, I mean”
“A Hound, yeah,” I said, all the while internally shouting for Vanitas to stand down He was still sheathed, but I knew that he was only waiting for one falsefrenzy “What’s your point?”
We flinched when Royce pulled his hand out, but he only used it to stroke at the bare stubble on his chin My eyes fleatch his concealed hand, butback to Royce’s face, and the way his features rearranged into soant