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Of course it took all , and I made my face such an obdurate

I started to laugh too

"But really, Marius," I said, feeling very cheeky, "what are these creatures you speak of?" I made my wisdom nice and reverent My question was, after all, sincere "You come home miserable, Sir You know you do So what are they, and why must they be kept?"

"A, when ine that we have ene the blood drinkers, and they're close "

"Others? As strong as you?"

"No, those who have co as one "

I was enthralled He had hinted at this before, that he kept our territory clean of others, but he wouldn't elaborate, and now he see to talk

"But I iine that there are others, and that they'll coood reason They never do They'll want to hunt the Veneto, or they will have formed some willful little battalion, and they'll try to destroy us out of sheer sport I iinebut the point is, my child-and you are my child, smart one!-I don't tell you any more about the ancient mysteries than you need to know That way, no one can pick your apprentice mind for its deepest secrets, either with your cooperation or without your knowledge, or against your will "

"If we have a history worth knowing, Sir, then you should tell me What ancient mysteries? You wall me up with books on human history You've

yptian script which no one else knows, and you question me all the time on the fate of ancient Rome and ancient Athens, and the battles of every Crusade ever sent from our shores to the Holy Land But what of us?"

"Always here," he said, "I told you Ancient as mankind itself Always here, and always a few, and alarring and best when alone and needing the love only of one other or two at most That's the history, plain and simple I will expect you to write it out for es you no "

He sat down on the bed, disgruntled, letting hisinto the satin He fell back on the pillows He was really raw and strange and see

"Marius, come on now," I coaxed I was at the desk "What ancient mysteries? What are Those Who Must Be Kept?"

"Go dig into our dungeons, child," he said, lacing his voice with sarcasan days You'll find things as useful as Those Who Must Be Kept Leave ive you what counts In my absence you were supposed to study Tell me nohat you learnt "

He had in fact demanded that I learn all of Aristotle, not from the manuscripts which were common currency in the piazza, but from an old text of his ohich he said was purer Greek I'd read it all