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deer. And now he d set his sights on me.
 Jasmine, are you all right? Raoul whispered.
 Sure? Why? He nodded to his arm. Without thinking I d dug my nails in so deep I d
made purple marks. I immediately moved my hands up to his biceps.  Sorry. I didn t
realize.
 You did see Samos just now, yes? asked Raoul.  That must be worth the sacrifice you
made to come here.
Not knowing the parameters of the forfeit, I was hardly in a position to say.  I guess. I
mean, it helps. But knowing me, just being able to ID the guy wouldn t be enough to
make me give up something I cherished. I think there s something more.
 Perhaps the reason he has agreed to sponsor the reavers?
I shook my head.  I imagine it s straight revenge, just like Uldin Beit. Samos must think
I d killed his right hand, his avhar, an Asian vamp with a thing for pastel suits named
Shunyuan Fa. I hadn t. But I d had a near-death encounter with Fa, who d lost his head
during a failed coup later that evening. I didn t know what Fa had said to his sverhamin
about me before going smoky, if anything. But Samos knew I d taken out a rookie reaver
on the same yacht where he d placed Fa as his emissary. The evidence tying me to Fa
was so rickety you wouldn t want to cross a steep gorge on it, but it probably worked for
him. Shoot, most juries would hang me on less.
 Come forward, the Magistrate told Uldin Beit as he stood and moved away from his
rock.
The seated demons showed noticeable signs of excitement. Tongues hung out, eyes
bulged, and, uh, other things as well as she obeyed a little unsteadily. As she knelt before
him, he uncoiled his whip.
 Oh shit, Raoul, tell me this isn t happening.
 I wish I could.
I didn t want to watch but felt I had to. This was the price I was willing to pay her for
killing her mate.
The Magistrate reared back, the whip flying behind him and then shooting forward as his
arm fell. Uldin Beit s blood exploded into the air. I flinched. She screamed. And I knew
no revenge could be worth this. Again and again the whip lashed, literally cutting the
skin from the reaver s back, until the Magistrate held the strips up in one bloody hand.
 Here! he roared.  The pound of flesh! Do you bear witness!
 Aye! the demons bellowed back.
 I ve seen enough, I told Raoul.  Let s get outta here.
 That s when I woke up on the Chinook, ten minutes out from the LZ. I avoided Dave s
eyes. He could probably tell I was lying. That I d had a few more harrowing experiences
before hell finally released me. But no way was I going to share those details with a room
full of strangers, including an employee of the Wizard.
 So you brought these reavers down on us? asked the amazon. Bergman decided he
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didn t care for her company and moved to the window next to Natch, the giant.
 I m sorry, I didn t catch your name, I said.
 That s because I didn t throw it, she replied.
We stared each other down, neither willing to budge.  That s Grace Jensen, said the
medic, who seemed to feel we girls should stick together in a predominantly man s world.
Ignoring Grace s dirty look she added,  And I m Adela Reyes.
 Nice to meet you, I told her.  You do excellent work.
She gave me a just-doing-my-job shrug.  These guys are tough. It s going to take a lot
more than a few stitches to keep them down.
I nodded, hiding my smile as chests puffed around the room.  That s obvious.
 You didn t answer my question, snapped Amazon Grace.
I gave her a leisurely look, knowing it would irritate her, wondering how far I should push
her. Could she be the mole? Trying to stir up conflict within the unit in order to undermine
the mission? Hard to say. It could just be an honest reaction to us stepping on her turf and
putting her buddies in harm s way.
 I gave you this information as a courtesy, I told her,  because I believe you ll function
more effectively if you understand what s happening and why. But here s the deal, Grace.
My boss and I have been assigned to kill a man and that s what we re going to do. You
can be part of our team, or you can be a tool we use to get our job done. Either way we
have success. You just have to decide if you want to be happy or miserable.
While Grace digested the fact that she d just been outbitched, I went on, speaking to the
rest of Dave s people.  When the Magistrate asked Uldin Beit the name of her sponsor,
she responded by saying  Edward Samos. That doesn t mean anything to you, but it s
hugely significant to us. Samos is the CIA s top target, an American-born vampire with
aspirations toward world domination  the sooner we nail him the better. You have to
understand that all reavers need an earthly sponsor. Somebody who can provide them with
bodies to inhabit and souls to snatch.
This was all true. Now for the lie.
 We ve also discovered that Samos has been watching the Wizard s movements with
interest for quite a while. He intends to use his reavers to shanghai the Wizard s body and,
as a result, his entire operation. At which point I guarantee he ll make the Wizard s past
exploits look like a practical joke. So, feel free to be pissed that reavers have been sent
after me. Just remember, as soon as I m out of the picture, they re going after the big
game.
The seed had been planted. Now we d watch and wait. Hopefully the mole would find it
necessary to pass this juicy morsel on to the Wizard. As soon as he or she tried to make
contact, we d close in. And then we d have him. I looked at Grace. Or her.
Chapter Three [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]