18/02/2026 07:14

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Whose friend? Nicols asked. The big man looked perplexed. There was much of that killer in me, and much of myinnocence in him. Surgat came and stood with the point of one goat-hoof almost touching Siri’s blood.

It was like watching a nest of snakes, so much movement, disconnected in the candlelit dark, as if each limb were something separate and alive without the body. They were not merely vampires. I used my hands to help mound that side of his chest so that I could find a mouthful of him. The portents were good.