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"The stars drifted in the purple sky The gold hung behind the clouds It was nificent

" 'Some Blood Hunters don't wake till the sky is full dark,' he said, 'and they never know this quiet glory I see you shade your eyes, but it doesn't hurt you ¡¯

"In fact it didn't and it was only with difficulty that I absorbed the reality that I would never see 'the light of day' again

"He saw the trouble inI'll take you out to hunt now You're¡¯

" 'And so I've disappointed her,' I asked, 'and she'll have nothing further to do with me?¡¯

" 'No,' he said with a short honest laugh 'She's eager to see you But it happens that she's a miserable teacher And so I've told her no, and that I'll take you out, and so we'll hunt the caf¨¦s and the clubs of Napoli ¡¯

"He was dressed inforht in a black silk shirt open at the neck and a finely cut jacket of dark red silk and a pair of sleek trousers

"He tookmortal boy waited to help me select a siain, I thanked him for his kindness

" 'If I had any ive it to you ¡¯

"He smiled at me And I patted his shoulder

"Then ere off to the caf¨¦s and bars for more lessons

"Wethe Little Drink over and over until I was very skilled at it, and then, cornering for ourselves two 'perfect killers,' we had our fill of them in a back alley in the oldest part of Naples We left their bodies because Arion said it didn't matter there, but there would be other times when it did and the bodies had to be disposed of As it was, he slashed the throats of the two so it would seem they had bled to death

" 'To thrive without killing,' he said, 'that is everything If you can live without bringing death, you will endure But now and then the urge to kill will overrule -- you'll want the burning bitter heart -- and so I've taught you how to do it ¡¯

"I was exhilarated all this while, and the elegant figure of Arion constantly thrilled race I wanted hi And in some ways he isand speaking in a hushed tone that commanded respect and loyalty of me

"His skin was so black that under the lights of the caf¨¦s and bars it had a bluish tinge to it, and his deep yellow eyes had tiny flecks of brown and green in them His teeth were powerfully white, and his lips s