Chrysalis

"How was I supposed to know he was going to escape?" Granin said. "You think he was likely to admit such a thing right before he attempted it?"

"I've had reports that much of the mental communication between yourself and the ant were shielded from prying. Why would that be?" Gravus rumbled, uncharacteristically keeping his temper in check.

Granin's eyes widened.

"Because, as my charge, and as a reincarnated individual, Anthony had those rights within the cult. I swear by the Worm, you boneheads don't even remember what he is!"

"He was a monster under the control of the cult," Gravus growled.

"He was an individual under the care of the cult," Granin ground out.

The two old Shapers glared at each other, openly indulging in their mutual dislike. Granin felt his knuckles itch with the desire to punch this sorry sack of a stone right in the face again, just to prove a point, but he restrained himself. He was being interrogated and didn't particularly want to drag the rest of his triad down with him.

"And I suppose the frequent meetings with the other reincarnated individuals under our care, leading to the escape of one of them, had nothing to do with your machinations?"

"Machinations?" Granin snorted. "The only plotting here has been going on in the vast space between your ears. It's natural for them to want to communicate with each other, given their shared history. Each of those meetings was approved, by your triad, and, just maybe, James was eager to escape because he feared being forced into combat to the death. You know, like you did to Anthony, and then to Sarah."

Gravus puffed up with indignation.

"You know very well that the specimen known as Sarah volunteered for the role. She has relied on the Shapers for many years, it's little surprise that she wants to give back."

as Granin stared his adversary in the eyes coolly. It was hard to believe the old blowhard would be able to spit those lines with a straight face. If it

are talking about Sarah, about

He leaned forward conspiratorially.

and leave her there if she didn't agree to participate

said

"It's this kind of disgusting conduct

theirs. If he wasn't so busy sticking his nose into messes and stirring the pot, he'd have

that the majority of the triads sent out had been destroyed by an overwhelming force of ants, the entire city had exploded. A few things had begun to happen at once. Officials scrambled to put together a suppression force. Warriors scrambled to insert

mercifully silent, but for how long nobody could guess. Yet another reason to find someone to point the finger at when

elbows on her desk and her hands laced beneath her

to sound regretful. "If or when they come here asking questions then we are going to need to have some

own idiotic policies you pressed intelligent and dangerous creatures against a wall, forcing them to make desperate choices that have endangered us

don't think we'll be

start being honest

forward and inserted herself into the

have to give us a compelling reason. Is

triad opposite, but they couldn't bring themselves to care. Not to say that the threat to their own freedom and safety wasn't real, it absolutely was, but these individuals no longer held any awe or fear for them. They now saw them as Granin did, foolish and desperate Golgari who'd

too was tired of playing

to be

snapped, "do you think anything about the current situation calls for such a relaxed