Chapter Seven
Luring his prey into the trap did not, in the end, prove difficult. All Konrad had to do was to ensure that they received the right rumours: word of their little trio of former victims huddled in the morgue beneath The Malykt’s temple, trapped and weak and helpless, ripe for the picking. Tasha’s presence could not hurt either, for a young lamaeni girl might seem a likelier target if Kovalev and the others had proved too difficult. Konrad set his serpents to this task, confident in their ability to spread the desired gossip among the spirits of the Darks.
He made certain that Nanda was stationed at the other end of the street, in case of disaster; that Nuritov received only a general outline of the plan and none of its details, so that he could not helpfully show up at the w
