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heard his footsteps thumping over their heads. No
doubt they were gazing intently up at the roof. Smoke,
as Despiris had recently demonstrated that she knew,
was the best thing to hide in when the darkness wasn t
enough. And since he was coming out of the chimney, it
was ideal.
Still holding his breath, Clevwrith climbed out of the
chimney, concealed by a gray mass of smoke. He heard
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Spychild
voices in front of the house, and secretly descended the
back slope of the roof and made his departure.
He escaped from the scene of the crime as subtly as a
ghost, leaving nothing to attest to his presence except a
table that bore a most mysterious note in place of the
Lord Advisor s precious missing plans, and the thought-
provoking spectacle of a single set of sooty footprints
isolated squarely in the center of the room.
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23: His Alley
 Those who tread into danger purposefully, because of nothing
but intrigue, are fools, someone had said once  and that is
exactly what the Spylord was known for doing, so why didn t
anyone call him a fool? Everyone else who acted as such were
fools.
Lady Verrikose stood looking out the window of the
palace, the king and Lord Mosscrow seated behind her
in the room playing a game of chess.
 This Spylord&  she began thoughtfully.  He
intrigues me as thoroughly as he does everyone else in
this enchanted country of yours. He is a dark, charming
fellow, and he has ensnared me as surely as a spider in
all its subtlety. I find it rather fitting that his emblem
includes a web as its main symbol. I am stuck in that
web.
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 I thought that might be why you remained with us
even after we had no further need of you, King Isavor
remarked as he frowned at the arrangement of pieces on
the chess board.  You get one taste of the
Shadowmaster, no matter who you are, and it wets your
appetite.
 It should not surprise you, Lady Verrikose said.
 Just the fact that his fame has stretched beyond your
own borders, wandering to foreign countries on
whispers of legend, enough to intrigue me into
volunteering my services to being with& that should
have driven you to expect I would become this
interested.
 Indeed, agreed the king.
A bit of silence stretched undisturbed as the game of
chess went on and Lady Verrikose continued staring
absently out the window.
 Perhaps you are going about the matter of the
Spylord wrong, the lady suggested thoughtfully after a
time.
 What do you suggest? Lord Mosscrow grunted.
 I don t know. But I think I might investigate the
possibility.
 Investigate? Crow wondered aloud.  What kind of
investigating?
 Using myself as bait to make him come to me so I
can speak to him face to face.
 What kind of bait?
 I am the one responsible for directing the creatures
that convinced his apprentice to leave his side. He
knows that. No doubt if I go out alone somewhere he
will track me, desiring to deliver a personal warning to
inform me that I have made him very upset.
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Spychild
 And possibly slit your throat and dump your corpse
at our doorstep as another statement to express that
anger you have provoked, Crow retorted.
 Perhaps, Lady Verrikose agreed with terrible calm.
 But I don t think so.
 Well I do, Crow huffed.  But you can risk your
pretty little neck any way that you please, my lady. If it
catches us the Spylord, I frankly shouldn t care.
 Crow, the king warned distractedly.  Is that any
way to speak to a lady?
 Of course not, your Majesty, Crow confessed
mordantly, glaring at Lady Verrikose.
 What would you say to him? the king asked her.
 If you did manage to catch him in conversation?
 I honestly don t know, she admitted.  But even if I
gained no advantage for your cause, the privilege of
talking with such an icon face to face would be enough
to satisfy me.
 You mean enough to thrill you, Mosscrow
grumbled.
 Yes, the king said absently.  I imagine that it
would. But he is at his most dangerous right now,
remember that, Isavor advised.  Dashing he may be,
but Crow s right  he could dash you across the heart
with a lethal blade, my lady. I can t stop you, but
honestly it isn t safe. Not at all.
* * *
Leaving the palace around midnight, Lady Verrikose
wandered aimlessly until she lost herself in the complex
layout of the city. She could not specifically say if she
was afraid or not, but if she was then her dangerous
fascination had drowned that out.
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Spychild
The frequency of street lamps gradually dwindled
until the only light emanated from the thin sliver of the
crescent moon that looked so much to her like the
teasing flash of a grin smiling secretively down from the
sky. She told herself it wasn t significant in the least, but
it was hard to ignore its symbolic taunt.
It was a strange thing assuming someone was
following you and imagining them there, then not
certain you had imagined them at all. Had the blur of
movement, the flicker of shadow, really been real? Just
things she did not think herself sharp enough to notice,
and so assumed she was dreaming them up?
Lady Verrikose suppressed a shiver and quickened
her pace. She shouldn t focus on her stalker  imagined
or real. She didn t want to lose her nerve.
But disturbing realizations kept assaulting her, more
and more. If her backbone did collapse, it would be too
late. She was so far away from the palace by now that it
wouldn t matter. She could turn and flee, but where
would she go? She was lost. And who was to say she
wouldn t run smack dab into the shadowy figure she
envisioned on her tail?
She became more edgy by the second, thinking
perhaps the brief surge of bravery that had prompted
this dark escapade had been foolish.
But it still might be successful, she reminded herself,
and strode on with determination.
She was just beginning to think she was actually [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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