The Marble Tower

-11-

Ryder said that "there was absolutely no way that we are doing that".  Which is exactly why he was going to kill him when he wakes up in the morning.  But Robyn would be long gone by then.

He may not be very smart, but he knew his geography, and if they left at exactly 10:00 like Charles had implied, they would be clear passed the boarders of Lidia and into Zyden before dawn and Ryder went on his man hunt.  And he would have a whole day's (well, night's) head start. 

Throwing his bag over his shoulder he started towards the door.

The old house didn't look any different from what it usually did.  Old, creepy, abandoned.  There was nothing out of the ordinary, nothing out of place. 

As a child he used to play around in the old house with the other members of the gang.  Shortly after his life dissolved into utter darkness.  He knew where they would be meeting.

He chuckled at the memory.  When he was young and thought that the world was always bright and sunshiny.  How things had changed after that.

Ducking through and old window his feet hit the dusty ground.  The trail of footsteps only confirmed his suspicions.   To the side, smart.  Whoever had made them had kept to the side, close to the walls, making them oh so much less visible.

The great hall wasn't lit up lie it might have been in the day, but the few candelabras that had been placed on the walls made the room visible, and that's all that he expected.  Charles sat at the head of a long table, a grandfather clock next to him, which he kept glancing at as if time would jump forward if he didn't check it enough time would leap forward.

Robyn himself looked at it, 10:03.  he was early.

He was already half way to him when he finally looked up.  Charles's lips twisted twisted into a sinister smile.

"I'm glad you came."