Chapter Two
Tasha appeared a few minutes before Konrad had planned to sit down to dinner, and she did so in a more literal sense than he was fully comfortable with.
He ventured down the stairs of Bakar House, dressed for dinner, moving with more care than usual considering his inebriated state. The hall was empty, as it should be, but halfway between the bottom of the staircase and the door to the dining parlour the hallway felt significantly less empty.
Master, said Eetapi. You are observed.
Konrad turned. A girl stood just inside the front door, hands behind her back, waiting patiently to be noticed. She looked to be about fourteen winters old, and she was dressed in the neat, nondescript clothing one might expect of a ward of the police. Her dark hair was trimmed short, half conceal
