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“Mr. X thinks you torched the place.”

“Of course he does. The assumption’s convenient for him, even though I had no motive. Look, I’ll call you later.”

He clipped the phone shut and shoved it into his jacket. Then he took the thing back out and turned it off.

As he rubbed his face, he couldn’t feel anything at all, and it wasn’t because of the cold.

Man, he was in deep shit. Mr. X was going to need to blame someone for that ash pile, and O was going to be it. If he wasn’t put to death on the spot, the punishment lined up for him was going to be severe. God knew the last time he’d been reprimanded, he’d nearly died under the Omega. Damn it… What were his options?

When the solution came to him, his body shuddered. But the tactician in him rejoiced.

The first step was getting access to the Society’s scrolls before Mr. X found him. This meant he needed an Internet connection. Which meant he was going back to U’s.

John left Wrath’s study and walked down the hall to the left, sticking close to Tohr. There were doors every thirty feet or so running opposite the balcony, as if the place were a hotel. How many people lived here?

Tohr stopped and knocked on one of them. When there was no answer he knocked again and said, “Phury, man, you got a sec?”

“You looking for me?” came a deep voice from behind them.

A man with a whole lot of nice-looking hair was coming down the corridor. The stuff on his head was all kinds of different colors, falling down his back in waves. He smiled at John, then looked at Tohr.

“Hey, my brother,” Tohr said. The two of them switched over to the Old Language as the guy opened the door.

John looked into the bedroom. There was a huge, antique canopied bed with pillows lined up on a carved headboard. Lots of fancy decorator stuff. Place smelled like a Starbucks.

The man with the hair switched to English and looked down with a smile. “John, I’m Phury. Guess we’re both going to the doc’s tonight.”

Tohr put his hand on John’s shoulder. “So I’ll see you later, okay? You have my cell phone number. You just text-message me if you need something.”

John nodded and watched Tohr stride off. Seeing those broad shoulders recede made him feel very alone.

At least until Phury said quietly, “Don’t worry. He’s never far, and I’ll take good care of you.”

John glanced up into warm yellow eyes. Wow…the things were the color of goldfinches. As he found himself relaxing, he connected the name. Phury…This was the guy who was going to be doing some of the teaching.

Good, John thought.

“Come on in. I just got back from a little errand.”

As John breached the doorway, the smoky, coffee smell grew heavier.

“You ever been to Havers’s before?”

John shook his head and spotted an armchair by a window. He went over and sat in the thing.

“Well, don’t worry about it. We’ll make sure you’re treated right. So I guess they’re going to try to get a bead on your bloodline?”

John nodded. Tohr had said that he was getting blood drawn and having a physical. Both of which were probably a good idea, given the stop, drop, and shiver he’d just pulled in Wrath’s office.

He took out his pad and wrote, Why are you going to the doctor’s?

Phury came over and looked at the scribbles. With an easy shift of his big body, he propped one huge shitkicker on the edge of the chair. John leaned away as the man pulled up his leathers a little.

Oh, my God… His lower leg was made up of a series of rods and bolts.

John reached out to feel the shiny metal, then looked up. He didn’t realize he was touching his own throat until Phury smiled.

“Yeah, I know all about what it’s like to be missing a part.”

John glanced back at the artificial limb and cocked his head.

“How’d it happen?” When John nodded, Phury hesitated and then said, “I shot it off.”

The door flew open and a hard male voice cut through the room. “I need to know—”

John shifted his eyes as the words died off. Then he cringed back in the chair.

The man in the doorway was scarred, his face distorted by a slash that