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‘Of course,’ said Stoker. ‘I wanted to live. I’d have said whatever you wanted me to say.’

‘What?’ said Nize. ‘But... but the oaths...’

‘Yeah. Um. You’re incredibly gullible, by the way. Not sure if you knew that about yourself.’

‘I am not!’

‘Uh-huh. Anyway, you do realize what running means, right?’

‘They will hunt us down, yes. But certain groups among the Vanguard might be willing to shelter us. Assuming we can find them.’

‘Don’t get your hopes up. I think we should just go find a place to lie low.’

‘First, we need an opening to escape. It won’t do to have seven servants chasing after us right from the start.’

‘Yeah, I’d prefer to avoid that, too.’


Chapter Thirty-Seven: ‘Avail thyself...’
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Colt sat feeding Stephanie by the spoonful. She had only puked on him once in the past few days, so he was wondering if this new baby food agreed with her better.

It had been six days since their arrival in Klein. The nights were cold out here, and the warehouse had no electricity or heating, but between the campfire he made and the mountain of blankets Hector brought back, there was ample warmth to go around.

Hector was gone most of the time, even during the day. It seemed like he only ever returned to train or deliver supplies. Colt wasn’t even sure if the kid was sleeping. On the fourth night, he showed up in a bloody shirt with no less than two dozen bullet holes in it and just collapsed in front of the fire. And as soon as he woke up, he went right back out again. On the fifth day, even Garovel was telling him to slow down.

Bohwanox sometimes ventured out with Hector as well, but Colt was quite content to stay with the children around the clock. It wasn’t the most exciting thing, but he’d had his fill of excitement lately. And besides, Hector had brought him a portable television to keep updated on events.