nah

n wooden pallets in the center of the room, lids u

y robes-Agatha Higgins, an official herald fro

are the formal blood-oath gift

aight to the velvet-lined pedestal, where an ancient parchmen

he velvet ca

om solid mythril. Two uncut pigeon-blood rubies

"That's the Matriarch Sigil of the Blackthorn

earer executive command over Blackthorn

hovering over the cool metal. "A wounded Alpha

to demonstrate that his intentions are abso

ds stepped aside, revealing a lar

e white, golden eyes sharp and alert. N

tilted its head, leaned toward the bars, and

ce cliffs," Agatha said. "The Commander

sonally? The man is blind. His inner wo

more. "The Commander's gifts speak for themselves,

or locked behind them, leaving only Te

radar log and tracking report on how that bird was caught. If Knox Delaney

tablet. "I'll have our border contac

nternal line flashed red

eared. Three million two hundred thousand credits, wired

ace

econdary commercial holdings at a forty percent discount. Then he drain

"He looted his own pack's survival

do with th

s copy to the Silver Peak Elder Council. Let th

g the streetlights fli

shed. The real puzz

b-zero blizzards. He doesn't hand supreme pack

saction-my fortune for his protection. But if Knox Delaney was playing