"Mickey Zucker Reichert - Darkness Comes Together" - читать интересную книгу автора (Reichert Mickey Zucker)

He looked up to see the man, likely Lord Karthorian, diving for a bell cord. "Pull it and she dies." It
seemed a useless threat. Surely the life of one grubby orphan would not prove enough to keep the man
from alerting his guards.

But, miraculously, Karthorian lowered his hand to the pallet. "It's me you want. Let her go." He looked
imploringly at the girl. "Kithra, what are you doing here?"

Tears glided from the child's eyes, wetting Josafah's sleeve. She trembled in his grip. "IтАФI had a bad
dream. IтАФI just wantedтАж to tellтАж someoneтАж I didn'tтАж" She trailed off into sobs.

The solution seemed simple enough. Nightfall could kill the lord while Josafah held the girl. Then, the child
would have to die as well. Her previous commotion might bring others, but they could still escape through
the window. Josafah glanced toward the door.

Nightfall was not there.

"WhereтАФ" Josafah started before pain seared his spine and he collapsed into final darkness.

Heart still hammering, Kithra clinging to him like a daughter, Lord Karthorian tossed a pouchful of silver.
"Thank you."

In one smooth motion, Nightfall caught and pocketed the money, without bothering to count it. After
hiring Nightfall to kill the assassin who stalked him, Karthorian would not dare to cheat him. Surely, the
lord of the manor knew how near Nightfall had come to disposing of mark and hire together. Josafah had
revealed himself as a worthwhile target. Had the rumors about the lord proven true as well, Nightfall
would have allowed the other assassin to complete his mission before finishing his own. Only Karthorian's
decision to save the girl, and her innocent explanation for being in his bedroom at night, had spared his
life. "The orphans need you."

Footsteps hammered the hallway. The door rattled.

"I'll hide you," Karthorian promised.

"No need." Nightfall covered the distance to the shuttered window with the grace and power of an ocean
swell. "I'm sorry about the puppy," he told the girl with genuine remorse.

The door and shutters burst open simultaneously.

When the guards arrived, Nightfall was gone.