Lisa Shearin

I decide that we could always indulge ourselves later. First, I had a soul-eating stone of power to poke with a stick.

Mychael said the rock__ not affecting you, and from what I__ seeing I__ inclined to agree.___ beg to differ.___eeling evil?_ Justinius asked.__o.___aving an urge to overthrow governments, kill thousands?___o and no.___ake over the world?___oo much work.

I just had his hand in a vise,_ I protested indignantly. __t wasn__ like I had a dagger in his ribs. __and in a vise_ is simple assault or, in my case, self-defense. __agger in the ribs_ is attempted murder. My family did teach me the difference.

Mychael Eiliesor. Guardian paladin, sacred protector, master spellsinger, fashion consultant.

You wearing a thigh sheath?___ow what would be the sense of wearing just one? I have two thighs.

I wouldn't be comfortable, but at least I'd have marginal protection against pointy steel objects that went stab in the night.

Dragons didn__ fool around when it came to protecting things that they acquired__e it gold, gems, or a monster__ body parts.

Michael was still an enigma, wrapped in a riddle, coated in yum. Only now the enigma was a little less mysterious; I was a few clues closer to solving the riddle - but damn, that man would always be coated in yum.

Vegard and Riston's job today was to guard and protect me. And considering that I was in a tower room in the Guardians' citadel, it looked like a pretty plum assignment. I mean, how much trouble could a girl get into under heavy guard in a tower room? Notice I didn't ask that question out loud. No need to rub Fate's nose in something when I'd been tempting her enough lately.Phaelan had generously his guard services as well, just in case something happened to me that my Guardian bodyguards couldn't handle. Phaelan's guard-on-duty stance resembled his pirate-on-shore-leave stane of leaning back in a chair with his feet up, but instead of a tavern table, his boots were doing a fine job of holding down the windowsill. I don't know how I'd ever felt safe without him.

I'd heard that if you saw a Reaper, you saw what you expected to see, what you thought the agents of Death would look like. Personally, I wanted to see little, fuzzy pink bunnies, but apparently my subconscious visualized tall, scary, and skeletal. My subconscious and I needed to have a long talk.

The second time, I had a freakin_ vampire at my back._ I froze. Oh shit. __o offense, Mr. Moreau,_ I quickly added.__one taken, Agent Fraser. During the course of my lengthy life, I have been called many things, but __reakin__ has never been one of them. I__l consider it a novelty.

So the owner of a monster head wants to meet on a path named Nut,_ I said. __hat__ appropriate.

Whoever said ignorance is bliss must have died a horrible death with a really surprised look on his face.