and now the whole machine , which whirred away so quietly that people had forgotten it was a machine at all and thought that it was just the way the world worked , had given a lurch . the guild leaders examined their thoughts and decided that what they did not want was power . what they wanted was that tomorrow should be pretty much like today . ' there 's the dwarfs , ' said mr boggis . ' even if one of us - not that i 'm saying it would be one of us , of course - even if someone took over , what about the dwarfs

'' i see that you 've recovered from the accident of our last meeting , '' she told lilith coolly , wondering if the stake buried in her coiffure had been located and removed . she reached up to feel through the mass of curls there ... and pulled out the slender stake . aha . they 'd missed that one . the vampiress 's eyes narrowed , either at victoria 's taunt or the sight of the stake

'' shall i put on some shorts ? '' i teased . '' no way ! i could watch you walk around all day . '' she confessed while biting down on her lip . i smiled and felt my cheeks warming up . it was funny that someone like savanna could make me blush . i did n't remember the last time i had felt embarrassed

they need to know that if they do n't confess to their crimes , someone else is going to punish them . someone you do n't know . someone they do n't know . someone with access to magic . '' the captain echoed allan 's nod . '' make confessing seem better than trying to get away with their crimes . '' '' just so . '' the captain looked at the stone again , then at
allan