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Richard gazed down at the quivering hilt of the sword before he took hold of it and held it aloft Several long seconds passed before he called out for his guard

Simone took Korvel’s hand as the tarriors cah lord stepped forward "You vowed by bond of blood to serve s By disobedience and insolence you have broken that vow and released ht the words would feel like blows, but instead he felt the chains inside hi, link by link

Richard pulled back his hood and regarded the men on either side of Korvel "Stefan, Howarth, I call on you as witnesses, and declare that this er holds position inthe Kyn His weapons and possessions will be confiscated, his privileges revoked"

It wasn’t until the high lord inverted the blade and offered the hilt to Korvel that he felt the last chain, the one that had for so long imprisoned his soul, fall away

"Korvel the bastard, I discharge you froer serve ue

November 7, 2011

So the old château, which had once ee, had not been worked for ht from its elderly owners by a speculator, and when the property becathy bankruptcy, predictions of dooan to spread Ultimately the château and all the vineyards went to a bank in Paris, to be sold off again to the highest bidder This, of course, would probably be soner determined to renovate it into a profitable obscenity that would turn the village into another tourist trap Dour bets were placed as to whether the neners would convert the winery into a factory for cheap cerae cultists’ retreat, or a backpacker hostel

News of the sale reached the village, which initially rejoiced to learn a young couple had purchased it To add to the excitement, it was rumored that they intended to keep it as a winery and start their own label That joy crashed into renewed desolation when the oas revealed to be an Englishman Only when the Realtor also let it slip that he had a French wife did the locals decide that he must have some brains, and all was not lost

En effet, he could have been lishwoman

Simone lit the candle in the center of the old e of the retaining wall The h the s, coloring the frosty air with the wild, cascading sweetness of Debussy’s First Arabesque Tonight it brought her the sauid pleasure as the blue silk dress she wore She could feel the frost like tiny crystals in the air, but the cold never bothered her now Al winter had stripped most of the leaves from the olives and the cypresses around the old château, and gleaned all of the fields in the valley to brown stubble, she could still smell the lavender in the air It reminded her of the convent, which still remained deserted, and the sisters, all of whom had been relocated to a new sanctuary in Italy Gabriel had inquired after them for her, and assured her that the council had them well protected

Nicola had set up a secure computer system for Korvel, and Simone used it to contact each of her brothers While she had used theainst Richard, she had no intentions of further intruding on their lives, and tried to release them from the oath of loyalty they had been forced to make She still couldn’t quite believe they had all flatly refused, or that soto Provence to be near her and Korvel

Alexandra Keller had called froreen particles she had discovered in the samples of blood she had taken from her "I intended to test thements of these emeralds Richard wants, but when I took the saen responsible foryou Darkyn probably ate theet into your bloodstream?"