Part 8 (1/2)

She snorted. ”We wouldn't be any better off in one of the other cities than at Sun Acres.”

”You could set conditions for going there.”

”I can't change my loyalty the way I'd change my dress. There are people at Sun Acres I care about, like my mother.”

”We have enough problems without taking care of someone else. You never should have brought the man here.”

”I couldn't leave him.”

Haig made a harsh noise. ”Too bad they taught you all that conscience stuff in school.” They moved off, and Logan couldn't hear the rest of the conversation.

He opened one eye, trying to judge the distance to the door. Could he get out before the other two people in the cave caught him?

But how? The door seemed to have disappeared.

FALCONE had worked hard to make himself a powerful force in the political life of Sun Acres. His parents had left him a considerable sum, and he had increased his wealth by buying and selling slaves and also by setting up a private army that provided security services to other wealthy households.

He'd confiscated his mansion from a former council member named Blaine, who had been caught in secret negotiations with the Preserve at Eden Brook. The s.p.a.cious residence had come completely furnished, so that all he had to do was move in.

He'd brought along his own slaves, who kept the place in smooth running order, and he'd sold off most of the staff he'd inherited from Blaine. But he'd tried out the women first and kept the ones who made good bedmates.

His staff was wise in the ways of the city. Even when staples like coffee were not available in the marketplace, his household knew where to get it. And with his own connections, he had picked up choice antiques to replace lesser modern furnis.h.i.+ngs.

Today he sat in a comfortable leather chair in the reception room off the front hall, waiting for news.

The house had been built before the Change. The walls were solid, and the ground floor windows were covered by grillwork that was decorative as well as designed to repel thieves and a.s.sa.s.sins-an occupational hazard given his position on the council.

A whip lay on the gla.s.s-topped table in front of him. He wanted to pick it up and slap it against the arm of the chair. But he kept his hands lying easily in his lap because he didn't want Avery to know that his nerves were jumping.

A loud knock sounded at the door, and Martin opened it. In the hallway, he heard a brusque exchange of words between the head of his personal guards and a newcomer.

Finally! News from the other side of the portal.

But when Calag, the captain of the search team, stepped into the room, Falcone knew that he wasn't going to like what he heard. The man's features were rigid, and his gaze lodged somewhere over Falcone's shoulder, because the fellow didn't have the guts to look him square in the eye.

”What happened?” Falcone asked in a voice that was calm yet edged with steel.

Calag swallowed, then replied. ”The trap was empty.”

Falcone's head whipped toward Avery. ”You said the woman was caught in the snare.”

”She was,” the adept insisted. He looked toward the man who had come in with the bad news. ”Were the teeth of the trap open or closed?”

”Closed.”

”Then how did she get away?” Falcone demanded.

”She must be stronger than we thought. Only the most powerful mage could have gotten out of that snare.”

”Yes,” Falcone hissed.