He was humoring this. Nisa was on a new path, under his wing … and he was equal parts dreading and relieved at the idea of her having something, anything, that went beyond her passion for killing.

But mostly, he was having his ear talked off by Ernest. He got brief interludes, sometimes, when someone stopped in front of Ernest to talk about something that may or may not sound clandestine to his ear.

All the while: he wondered who would not remain in the mortal coil when the morning came …