"Right. And yet you three were attacked by the same incubus, and every other Guardian here was left alone. Which means that if there was no connection between the three of you, you were random victims."

She pursed her lips a little as she thought that over. "I see your point, but I don't understand how that is going to help find the incubus."

"Well, I did a little opening-myself-to-the-possibilities exercise before lunch, and what I came up with was this: Imagine you want to kill someone, but you have a connection to the person you want to kill—a former lover or companion or even a master. If you kill that person, everyone is going to know that you have a good motive for doing it, and since you're on the premises, the odds are probably pretty good that Monish and the watch are going to come after you."

"Yeees," she drawled, her confusion evident.

"But now imagine that you're one of a couple of thousand people at a conference, and whammo! Someone dies—someone wholly and completely unconnected with you, someone you randomly picked out because you had never met her. Attention immediately is centered around the victim's past, who she knew, who had appointments with her, etc."

"Ah," she said, enlightenment dawning in her eyes.

'Then a second murder victim is found. Yes, the watch now has your means of destruction—in this case, they know you're an incubus—but once again there's nothing about the second victim to lead to you."

"The two deaths were committed to make the watch believe there was a connection, but there really wasn't?"

"Exactly. So you strike again. But this time the woman you pick isn't interested in getting her jollies. I know you don't want to think back on this, but can you remember if when you woke up the incubus was already beating you up, or was he ... well, was he making love to you?"

A faint flush brightened her dark cheeks. "He was attempting to seduce me. I knew at once it must be an incubus because a woman I shared a flat with many years ago was seeing one. She was obsessed with him. He almost consumed her, almost seduced her soul from her, but she realized in time what he was doing and rejected him. She went back home to the States after that, but her will was almost broken. She turned her back on Guardianship, refuted her calling, and devoted herself to a man she met a few weeks later."

"Wow. No wonder you were warning me about dallying with them. But that just proves my point. The incubus who attacked you didn't do so because he had a grudge against you—you were just another cog in his horrible wheel of death."

She frowned at the spoon she'd been using to stir her iced tea. "But then, that means..."

"That means that the true victim of the incubus has yet to be identified. The red herrings have been planted to distract the watch. If he kills again, suspicion will no longer be cast on him because the watch will be focusing on finding something to tie the murders together."

"How very clever," she said, her eyes blank, "How very evil."

"Yes." I waited for her to come back from wherever she'd slipped off to before adding, "The problem now is that we don't know who the true victim of the incubus is."

She nodded.

My stomach turned over in sympathy for the pain I was about to cause her. "Nora, this is asking a lot, but I need to trap this incubus tonight. Monish and the committee will have my head and all the rest of me if I don't. I have to ask you—will you help me trap him? I swear you'll be perfectly safe, but I need you to act as—"

"I'll do anything you ask," she said firmly, not even letting me finish.

I searched her face for any signs of discomfort or hesitancy. "Are you sure? It won't be pleasant."

"I want this monster caught. Like your demon, I, too, have faith in you, Aisling."

I smiled, all warm and fuzzy inside, crying just a little because I knew that what was going to happen was not going to be fun for her. Or me, for that matter. "Great. Let me tell you what I want you to do ..."

"Sorry I'm late. Had a little trouble with a couple of waiters who got into a bit of a squabble over who would open the door for me." I smiled around the table at the dragons present, noting that it was the same oval table that had been used during the disastrous lunch of a few days previous. "Hello, everyone. What did I miss?"

Drake held a chair out for me, waiting until I was seated before he said, "This meeting is to formally address the complaint made by the blue and red dragons."

"Ah." I folded my hands in my lap and put on my best mediator face. Drake had mentioned the night before that he believed Fiat was secretly working on Chuan Ren in an attempt to divide the septs so that no peace accord could be achieved. If the hostile looks Chuan Ren was shooting at the green dragons were any sign, Fiat had been successful.

"Fiatatoio del Fuoco Blu, the weyr recognizes you."

Fiat stood up, looking slowly at everyone around the table, his crystal-blue eyes settling on me. A slight mocking smile curved his lips at the same time I felt the touch of his mind. Immediately I slammed down my mental guards, shutting him out from reading my thoughts. "Wyverns, mates, and dragons, the bitter words of the last few days might have given some of you the impression that I find the thought of peace among the four septs repugnant and impossible. I assure you now that nothing is more distant from the truth. The blue dragons wish an accord with their brothers and sisters. Contrary to rumor, we do not desire to see the fragile peace under which we've lived the last few years torn asunder. We are simple in our needs and desires and do not unduly seek any power or glory."

Fiat paused to give everyone the eyeball again. I fought to keep the disbelief from my face. As Drake's consort, I was supposed to be as impartial as the front he presented—no matter what his private thoughts.

"The blue dragons have ever abided by the laws drawn by the weyr, laws that we might not wholly agree with, and might work to change, but always have we honored them. To do less would dishonor not just the weyr but our own names."

The red dragons nodded their agreement. I had a sudden, inexplicable feeling that Fiat was about to drop a bomb.

"As law-abiding members of the weyr, we feel it only right that all laws set by the wy verns be adhered to, rather than just the ones certain dragons find convenient."

Beside me, Drake's arm tightened.