It was not as if the beast had truly been looking at her. Frustration swept through her that the creature should startle her so. She closed the glass with a sharp breath, going pale. Adele felt a tingle of horror when one turned its head and, she thought, stared at her, looking in her eye with its cold glare. These two lay spreadeagle on the air, vibrating in the drafts that buffeted their nearly weightless frames. Vampire cadavers were displayed occasionally in the streets of her home, Alexandria, and she had even viewed the purported preserved head of the clan chief of Vienna, but she had seen only a few living specimens in her days. The young princess felt a delicious thrill spread through her. Five miles off the port beam Adele spotted two figures floating silhouetted in midair.

The distant clouds were turning brilliant orange and bruise purple in the darkening eastern sky. Adele snapped open the telescope and steadied her bootedįeet expertly against the airship's sway. A stiff breeze rolled the heavy skirt around her calves and whipped the ends of the scarf that struggled to restrain her long auburn curls. A crowd of redjackets from her household guard parted to make a path to the port rail. Thank you, Colonel Anhalt.' Adele crossed the quarterdeck of HMS Ptolemy and leapt with girlish pleasure down three steps to the ship's waist. 'In that case, Your Highness, would you care to have a look?' 'Yes, I should. Under her gaze, the short but powerfully built Gurkha officer covered his bemusement by clearing his throat and offering his brass telescope. Yes?' Princess Adele noticed a slight smile on the dark, chiseled face of Colonel Mehmet Anhalt, who stood close to her, as was his habit. Vampires are very unpredictable.' 'Thank you, Colonel. Also, thanks to Ann Collette of the Helen Rees Agency and Lou Anders of Pyr Books. Tremendous gratitude to our initial audience who provided valuable insight: Vivian, June, Sean, and Victor.

PS3607.R5486G74 2010 823'.6-dc22 2010029653 Printed in the United States of AmericaĠ OUR PARENTS, Melida & Larry and Anne & Motte, who always believed and supported. The Greyfriar I by Clay Griffith and Susan Griffth.

Inquiries should be addressed to Pyr 59 John Glenn Drive Amherst, New York 14228-2119 VOICE: 71 FAX: 71 14 13 12 11 10 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-inPublication Data Griffith, Clay. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, digital, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or conveyed via the Internet or a Web site without prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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