It was strange, really. He felt better now, after talking to her, than he had in days. She was definitely a bright spot in the week-which might actually have said less about her and more about the truly awful week, but there it was. Julien took one last look at the paperwork awaiting him and decided it could wait until tomorrow after all. He was going to lock up the office, go home, and get at least one good night's sleep, even if it meant a demerit for coming in late tomorrow.

Now where the h.e.l.l had he put his keys?

Widders.h.i.+ns shook her head as she slipped through the corridors of the Guard Headquarters. She didn't really need to sneak, now, seeing as she wasn't currently wanted for anything, but old habits and all that. She was glad Bouniard had cleared her of killing poor William and her fath-Alexandre. But she'd hoped...

Widders.h.i.+ns sighed. She still didn't know if Claude had just been a zealous lunatic, or if Cevora had truly guided his hand, but either way, she'd hoped he might have left some solid evidence behind. Maybe even, unlikely as she knew it was, something relating to the tragedy two years ago. She had hoped that the Guard might have cleared not only Widders.h.i.+ns, but Adrienne Satti. For all that had happened, she missed being Adrienne, sometimes.

She didn't even realize when Olgun sent a wave of confidence through her soul, of acceptance, of peace. No, she couldn't be Adrienne Satti anymore, not now, maybe not ever.

But there were worse people to be than Widders.h.i.+ns.

"Let's go home, Olgun," she said softly, in that tone that only he could hear. "I think it's time we start spreading you around a little bit, wouldn't you agree? I wonder how Robin feels about religion...."

Chattering happily to her patron G.o.d, Widders.h.i.+ns idly spun Julien Bouniard's key ring around her finger as she emerged from the Davillon City Guard, stepped into the dancing shadows cast by the flickering streetlights, and was gone.

Ari Marmell is a fantasy and horror writer, with novels and short stories published through Spectra (Random House), Pyr, Wizards of the Coast, and others. He has also worked as an author of role-playing-game materials for games such as Dungeons & Dragons and the World of Darkness line. His earliest novels were written as tie-in fiction for the games Vampire: The Masquerade and Magic: The Gathering. His first original (that is, non-tie-in) published novel was The Conqueror's Shadow, followed by a sequel, The Warlord's Legacy. Although born in New York, Ari has lived the vast majority of his life in Texas-first Houston, where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in creative writing at the University of Houston, and then Austin. He lives with his wife, George; two cats; and a variety of neuroses.

You can visit Ari online at http://mouseferatu.com.

end.