'' i have my reasons , '' coop muttered . for one thing , she held clues to the ring 's past . but he could have researched the case with lexie and not gotten involved with her personally or intimately , a voice in his head reminded him . he 'd chosen to go deeper . no , coop thought , he had n't chosen

then , of course , we found alpha india to be quite devoid of life , '' said dalrin in a sad tone . the hissing sound terminated abruptly and stowik gasped for air . '' why me ? '' inquired stowik , breathing rapidly . '' getting any opposition , let alone imbria , to trust an outsider is nigh impossible . you were in a unique position in that you are not arksent , and you had nothing to hide , '' replied dalrin

'' i know you do not like to be reminded of what you did at victrix , but it was a great deed . '' '' it was necessary , '' said ridmark . '' and i had help . i could not have done it alone . '' '' so have said all the great heroes of history , '' said aelia . '' i have no wish to be a hero , '' said ridmark

when he talked about the game , he described it as a science , as if the luck of the draw had nothing to do with winning . '' the secret is to know how to lie , '' he used to say , '' and to know when someone 's lying to you . '' his father , steve eventually decided , must have known how to
lie