a snout, and her fingers dripped blood as sharp claws took the place of her

fingernails. A low growl rumbled from deep down in her throat.

She could see clearly in the darkness now. The pain was gone. The accelerated

growth caused by her transformation had healed her physical injuries, but it

did

nothing to heal the harm that had been inflicted on her mind. It only

intensified it. She had a sharp, feral focus for her burning hatred now.

She moved quickly down the dark stone corridor, walking lightly on the balls

of

her feet. Then she dropped down to all fours and began to lope quickly along

the

corridor. She reached the end, where it curved around and became a long,

spiral

stair leading down to the lower floors of the castle, down to the underground

chambers, to the cold, damp, rat-infested dungeons.

There were two liveried guards standing at the doors of the library. They

were

both armed with long halbreds and nasty-looking daggers. Royce wondered how

they

managed to stand there in those feathered, floppy velvet hats and silly

medieval

costumes and keep their faces straight, but apparently they took their roles

quite seriously. As they approached the library doors the guards slammed into

a

sort of parade-rest position, crossing their halbreds before the doors to bar

their way, all the while continuing to look straight ahead, expressionlessly.

Royce turned to his companion with a grin. "I say, Damon, you think these

chaps

would actually use those weapons if we tried to force our way past them?"

"Shouldn't wonder. They look quite serious to me. Let's not push our luck,

eh?"

He spoke to one of the guards. "Lord Llewellyn Royce Blood would like to pay

his

respects to Lord Carfax."

Without acknowledging their presence in any way, but continuing to stare

straight ahead, the guard knocked loudly on the door three times with the

back

of the hand holding the halbred. A moment later it was opened from inside by

a

ravishing blonde in a thin gown very similar to the one that Terri had been

wearing, only it was black with a silver girdle, to offset her flaxen hair.

"Lord Llewellyn Royce Blood to see Lord Carfax," intoned the guard, looking

dead

ahead.

"One moment, my lord," the blonde said in a whispery voice. She gave a slight

curtsy and turned to go back into the library, leaving the doors open, though

the guards still stood with their halbreds crossed, barring the way.

Royce glanced into the room and saw that the richly paneled walls were mostly

obscured by built-in mahogany bookshelves all containing handsome,

leather-bound

editions. Illumination came from crystal chandeliers, and thick Persian