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  She shook her head for a second, then stopped. “If you cannot always be right, maybe you just have to be more right than the other guy.”

  “You almost have it.” The Wolf lowered his arm and the cloak shrouded him again. “You have to force the other man to make more mistakes than you do. You almost did that here, and I believe you could do it again.”

  Verena laughed. “I will never get that chance. My career is done. I was built up to be the heroine of Nusakan, the savior of Prefecture Nine. Now I will be the woman who lost it.”

  Alaric nodded. “I believe Colonel Colton has already dubbed you ‘Defeat’s Bride.’ “

  “Great.” Verena scrubbed her free hand over her face. “You defeat her and she becomes a star. You defeat me and I become nothing.”

  Alaric’s cloak opened again and he tossed a loop of cord into her lap. “I can raise you up from nothing.”

  Shock widened Verena’s eyes. “A bond cord?”

  “The very same Donovan gave me.”

  “You would make me a bondsman, a Wolf bondsman?” She fingered the cord slowly. “You would have me fight against my own people?”

  “I would have you vanquish the demons that haunt you.” Alaric nodded slowly. “Join me. I will train you, and when the time comes, you will use the lessons you have learned to slay the greatest demon of all.”

  Verena met his stare. “Anastasia Kerensky.”

  “Exactly.”

  Lifting her arm, Verena exposed her wrist and placed the bond cord in his hands.

  About the Author

  Michael A. Stackpole is an award-winning author, game designer, computer game designer and podcaster. In 2006 he and Brian Pulido won the Fade-In magazine scriptwriting contest grand prize for their script Gone. At DragonCon, Mike’s writing podcast, “The Secrets,” took the first-ever Parsec Award for writing-related podcasts.

  When not writing or podcasting, Mike enjoys indoor soccer and salsa dancing. Both are similar—it’s all in the footwork—but for one you get to dress up nicely.

  His Web site is www.stormwolf.com. Information about his podcasts can be found there or at www.podcastpen.com.

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  About the Author