Because Mercy, unlike himself, did not harm the innocent. He brought the embroidered silk belt closer to his body at the thought of releasing it into chaos. Mercy was unpredictable, and she brought chaos in her wake. He was taking a chance leaving this here, this last scrap of his soul. This frail cloth, a gift to the person he had once been, was his touchstone, a reminder that once he had been whole. He missed those scents everything smelled weak and pallid to him now. He brought it to his nose and pretended that he could still smell the rich jasmine perfume she had worn to cover the scents that healthy human bodies used to carry in a time before daily-or even weekly-baths. It was very old now, though not as old as he was, and he seldom got it out of its protective box for fear of damaging it. He held the silk fabric of his treasure carefully. He wasn’t sure what to call that, either, because it had felt as though she had saved him until the effects wore off and he understood that she might have destroyed him instead. He had helped Mercy-maybe-and then she had, she had. She had asked for his aid-something even his Mistress seldom did, untrustworthy servant that he was. He stood in Mercy’s bedroom, in the heart of the home of his enemy.
Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.įor Ann Peters, my Trusty Assistant, aka Sparky, who makes everything in my life work better. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Dataĭescription: New York: Ace, | Series: Mercy Thompson You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin Random House to continue to publish books for every reader.ĪCE is a registered trademark and the A colophon is a trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.
Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. (with Eileen Wilks, Karen Chance, and Sunny)
0 kommentar(er)
