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.No.You are mine, now.Be still.Ria surveyed the man standing beside her, motionless.Unfortunately, I do not have time for you tonight, even ifyou are a handsome, obviously virile man.But, if I eversee you againShe released him, breaking the spell.The officer shookhis head slowly, dazed."I I, uh, I'm just going to giveyou a warning, miss.Please drive more carefully.""Thank you, officer." Ria smiled to herself as the copwalked unsteadily towards his parked motorcycle.Remember me.Dream that one day I will call you.A pity that Father needs to speak with me tonight.Thatman could have proved to be an interesting.diversion.She waited until the cop had left, then started thePorsche, driving through the shadowed canyon.At LaurelCanyon, she turned left, and a moment later the lights ofthe Valley were visible before her, scintillating jewelsagainst the darkness.Beautiful, but I would rather be back in Century City,finishing up the contract for the meeting tomorrowDammit, Father, why tonight?Ten minutes later, she parked the Porsche in front of theentrance to the restaurant.The valet opened the door forher.His eyes brightened when he saw the folded bill shehanded him with the keys."Make sure nobody scratchesthe paint.""Yes, ma'am." His eyes followed her, hungrily, as shestrode to the restaurant door.She smiled to herself andgave her hips a little extra twitch, just for his benefit.Shecould feel the heat of his eyes upon her as she reached forthe lacquered black door handle.Dream on, little man.Only this dream costs more thanyou'd ever want to pay.She stepped inside, glancing around the entrance.Adistinguished older man rose from his seat near the koipond, and moved gracefully towards her."Good evening, dear," the silver-haired man said, andKNIGHT OF GHOSTS AND SHADOWS 103file:///G|/rah/Mercedes%20Lackey/Lackey,%20M.%20Knights%20of%20Ghosts%20and%20Shadows.txt (85 of 285) [2/2/2004 1:22:59 AM] file:///G|/rah/Mercedes%20Lackey/Lackey,%20Mercedes%20+%20Ellen%20Guon%20-%20Knights%20of%20Ghosts%20and%20Shadows.txtshe leaned close so he could kiss her cheek."You're look-ing especially lovely tonight."She offered him a hint of icy smile.Enough so that hecould read her annoyance not enough so that he couldread how very annoyed she was.He took her arm to lead her towards the back of therestaurant."Kyoshi's holding a table for us.Have you hadany dinner yet?""Not really."Damn him, he really wants something from me, I cantell.Of course, he'll never just come out and say it.We'llhave to go through this whole dinner routine first."Somesushi, maybe.And hot sake would be wonderful.It's beena rough day.""You'll have to tell me about it." He maneuvered themto the table, isolated behind a colorful paper screen and asmall stand of potted bamboo."Sake, Kyoshi," he instructed the waiter standing pa-tiently beside the table, "and a tray of sushi to start with."Ria sat back in the chair as the waiter hurried away, andsurveyed her father thoughtfully.Was it her imagination,or were there faint lines at the edges of his eyes? Probablynot he was never less than perfect.As always, his silver hair was immaculately barbered,carefully masking the tips of his long, slightly-pointed ears.But nothing could disguise his eyes, the cold emerald-green, slitted black pupils.At least my eyes are human.I suppose I should thankMother for that.A twinge of something, not quite concern, touched herbriefly.He looks tired.This Korendil affair must be wor-rying him more than I thought.Unless it's something elsethat he wantsI suppose I might as well start the game myself."As much as I enjoy seeing you.Father, I must admitthat tonight isn't the best night for this.Did I tell you thatwe're about to sign the investment deal? Twelve million inpaper, tomorrow at noon.My execs are still at the office,hammering out the details.And I'm sure they're wonder-104 Mercedes Lackey and Ellen Guoning just what was so important that their boss had todisappear immediately."To see her fatherHis green eyes glinted with hidden amusement."I'msure they have faith in you, my dear.They probably justthink you're closing another deal, right now."file:///G|/rah/Mercedes%20Lackey/Lackey,%20M.%20Knights%20of%20Ghosts%20and%20Shadows.txt (86 of 285) [2/2/2004 1:22:59 AM] file:///G|/rah/Mercedes%20Lackey/Lackey,%20Mercedes%20+%20Ellen%20Guon%20-%20Knights%20of%20Ghosts%20and%20Shadows.txt"Am I?"Her father smiled."Perhaps."You bastard.Games within games, even with your owndaughter.I know what he sees.His beautiful little girl.A corpo-rate executive.Half of the Old Blood, half human.Notquite his equal in power, but damn close.Someone he canmanipulate and control, and use in his games.But you taught me not to trust others.Father.To be-lieve only in myself, and what I can do, and never letanyone past my guard.So of course as I grew older, Irealized that included you as well.You never put thatvariable in your equation, did you?Now you think you can snap your fingers and I'll comerunning to help youIt'll snow in hell first.The sushi arrived, with two small ceramic containers ofhot rice wine.Ria and her father were silent as the winewas poured, a brief respite in the verbal fencing match.Parry, riposte.Feint and feint again.Ria sipped the steaming-hot wine, then dipped a pieceof octopus sushi in the small bowl of soy sauce beside her,savoring the unusual texture.And waited for her father to make the next move.Which, of course, he isn't going to do.Perenor sampled another piece of sushi, then mixedmore green wasanabe horseradish into his soy dippingbowl."Try the crab, my dear, it's really quite excellenttonight."He's trying to bait me.And, damn him, he's succeeding.I don't want to spend all night sitting here, making politeconversation, trying to figure out what he wants from me.Not when I've got twelve mil in paperwork sitting back atthe office.KNICHT OF GHOSTS AND SHADOWS 105She heaved an obvious sigh, and gave her head a littleshake."All right.Father.Why are you so concerned aboutKorendil? What does it matter if he's free? He's just oneoerson, and he isn't going to awaken the Dreamers, ordesert them to rouse the High Court; he can't do anythingagainst us.He isn't even one-tenth of the mage that youThe silver-haired man was silent for a long moment.There was an indefinable expression in his emerald-iceeyes."Ria, what would you say if I told you that there wasa Bard in Los Angeles? A true Bard, with all the abilitiesof the ancient Bards?""I'd say that you've been drinking too much sake," Riafile:///G|/rah/Mercedes%20Lackey/Lackey,%20M.%20Knights%20of%20Ghosts%20and%20Shadows.txt (87 of 285) [2/2/2004 1:22:59 AM] file:///G|/rah/Mercedes%20Lackey/Lackey,%20Mercedes%20+%20Ellen%20Guon%20-%20Knights%20of%20Ghosts%20and%20Shadows.txtsaid flatly."There are no more true Bards.Taliesen wasthe last one, and he died a thousand years ago." Shepondered that a moment."Well, perhaps O'Carolan.Buthe was a drunkard, and he never used his magic."Her father picked up another piece of sushi, a pale-orange fantailed shrimp, and gazed at it thoughtfully."Youshouldn't discount what I say so quickly, Arianrhod."Ria stared in silence at her father.It's true, then.A Bard, in Los Angeles.A true Bard.But that's impossible"All right, you've found a Bard." She shrugged."AndKorendil is free
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