Pale-gray clouds had begun billowing up from the south. The wind had picked up a little, but it wasn't so strong that Troy had to worry about his hat being blown off. The wind was warm, and the dryness of the scrubby landscape added dust to each breeze. It would rain within the next few hours. Troy knew he would be back at Andridis's farm by then, but wasn't sure he was going to get a warm welcome. He doubted he would, not unless Moffitt and Anah convinced the others that he wasn't a complete mess. Who am I kidding? Troy thought with a sigh. Even Moffitt got angry with me. I really wrecked this.

He wasn't sure what more could be said or done to convince him to just accept this fate. Having the jackal spirit meant stuff like this could happen at any time—well, to him. To whoever planned this out, it was just that: planned. It was just a matter of waiting for the right time to start laying hints and giving messages to psychics and seers, or talking snakes, in the case of Dietrich's prophecy.

What Troy hated most of all about this was just how bad this made him look. Under normal circumstances, he would have put everything down to start forming a battle plan against the strix. Even now, he wasn't going to leave anyone behind to these creatures. It was the fact that the role he had to play wasn't the one he felt he was best suited for that pushed him to react defensively. He could see now that Vissarion wasn't a lunatic. If anything, Troy was the lunatic for wanting to deny all of this and accusing a man he knew nothing about of being insane. It was rude, and it had done Troy no favors with his newfound blood relatives. He still wanted to build relationships with them. He wanted to have blood relatives that he cared about and would care about him in return. Once more, it felt like something pertaining to him and him alone was threatening to tear him apart from his family. He just had to be the strange one, no matter where he went.

The clouds and wind were at Troy's back as he continued his walk up a hill north of Andridis's farm. The hill gently sloped down to a wooded area that bordered a vineyard. This time of year was when the grapes would be harvested for wine. Troy couldn't help feeling curious about what variety the grapes were, as he remembered his grandparents had brought several different liquors when they left Greece and came to Wyoming. He certainly wasn't going to forget the retsina, the infamous pine resin-flavored wine that he had been dared to drink a few weeks after his grandmother's funeral. That wasn't something he was ever going to do again.

There was something strangely surreal about being there, in those woods. For a moment, Troy wondered if he had been there before, but told himself that wasn't possible. It couldn't be. He found himself wondering if this was a place his grandparents had been when they were younger. That odd feeling was replaced with guardedness when he suddenly felt that he wasn't alone, then heard a male voice.

"I think you will be surprised when certain things are revealed to you."

Troy stood still for a moment, then turned around. At first, it looked like there was no one around, then he noticed something large and white perched on a tree branch nestled within the forest. He stepped closer, and saw the featherless yellow face of an Egyptian vulture. The rest of the bird's plumage was pure, snowy white, and the feathers lining its wings were jet-black. It preened itself for a moment, acting like a normal bird. Troy shook his head, dismissing his initial thought that the vulture had spoken. He also dismissed the voice itself, wondering if he was merely hearing an echo from a conversation he wasn't a part of, and turned to keep walking.

"Your problem remains that you run from things that frighten you, or that you feel you cannot control. No matter how many times your friends tell you to stop. Your instinct is to run. Always to run."

Troy paused, and looked over his shoulder. The vulture was staring at him with its big, reddish-brown eyes. "There's no one else out here but us," Troy said. "Did you… A-Are you… talking? You, the vulture." He walked over to the tree in which the bird was sitting when he got no response. "Did you talk? Someone talked. Or I'm going crazy. Well, Dietrich would say that's already happened, or that I always was crazy. No, I swear I heard something." He looked up at the vulture, which continued to remain silent. Troy wasn't quite sure what to do now, so he said the first thing that came to mind. "Polly want a cracker?"

"I think your friend Dietrich may have a point," the vulture said.

"Oh, so, you do talk. I'm not crazy, then."

"The fact that you said 'Polly want a cracker' to one who is very clearly not a parrot puts that into question. Nevertheless, you are correct. I can speak."

"Yep. That you can." Despite the fact that he and the vulture were alone in the forest, Troy glanced around nervously. He put his hands in his pockets, becoming uncomfortable with the bird's intense stare. "So… what do you want?"

"To assist you, of course," the vulture replied. "Granted, I have assisted you in the past, but this is the first time we will be speaking face to face."

"What do you mean, you've assisted me in the past? I don't remember any talking vultures."

"That is because I didn't speak to you, or anyone, the last time I helped you."

"And when was this?"

"In Italy. I guided you to one of your objectives—granted, I was also helping Dietrich by giving him a break and pointing you away from his base of operations. It was just after his aunt had passed away, you know."

"So, you took us the long away around."

"Yes. I helped you countless times in North Africa as well. You remember wandering aimlessly through the desert after escaping Beckmann's captivity? I guided you to the nearest hospital."

Troy gave the bird a look. "I thought you were waiting for me to die. That's what vultures do, after all."

"Living ones, yes."

"Well, you don't look dead, so what are you?"

"Like Anah, I was once someone's familiar, nearly a thousand years ago. Unlike Anah, I was able to be freed shortly after my master's death. My mission is greatly different to hers, and has spanned a much greater distance. While Anah was the deliverer of Dietrich's prophecy, my job was to make sure you, Moffitt, and Dietrich all stayed well and on course to see the prophecy to completion."

"Now what? Dietrich's prophecy was fulfilled seven years ago."

"I had other tasks, namely you. I watched you in particular very closely in North Africa. You and your greatly troubled soul. The journey of life you have undertaken has not been an easy one."

A heavy feeling settled in Troy's chest. "No. No, it hasn't. Life's not supposed to be easy, though."

"All of us must face challenges, but yours have been particularly challenging."

Troy glared at the vulture. "If you're here to try giving me a pity party, I don't want it."

"Personally, I don't define this as a 'pity party.' Having sympathy for someone who has been dragged through so much hurt is not mere pity."

"If that's how you want to see it." Troy looked around again, still partially wondering if this was real. "So… do you have a name?"

"My name is Kavi. It is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance."

"Really?"

Kavi looked greatly puzzled for a moment. "Yes. Yes, it is."

"It's not going to pleasant after you know me for a little while."

"The problem, Troy, is that I have been observing you for many, many years. I know all about you."

"That's creepy."

"Oh, don't worry, I have not had a chance to observe you since you left Europe at the end of the Second World War. I remember you were quite afraid of being homeless, but your friends came through for you."

"Yeah… Yeah, they did." Troy looked at the ground, then back at Kavi. "I'm guessing you're also here because the damn vision involving the strix."

"Indeed I am. You have mastered the very basics of what you are capable of, but there is more."

Troy sighed. "How is there more? It doesn't seem like there should be."

"There is, but like I said when I decided to reveal myself to you, there are certain things you have yet to know. There are certain obstacles you must overcome. One of them is your conflict over your response to learning about Vissarion's vision."

Troy glared at the white vulture, tempted to tell him not to look in his head so much. He stopped, and his expression softened. "Yeah."

"It is quite simple, my friend. Go back to the farm of your cousin. Spend time with them, but be honest with them."

"Be honest about what?"

"What you have gone through, and why accepting your role as the jackal has been such a challenge." Kavi shifted on the branch. "Take care of that while I form a plan on how to train you, and while I locate a few things. Return to this place tomorrow. I will see you then."

"Why tomorrow? Why not tonight?"

"For one thing, being out at night here is incredibly dangerous with how much more aggressive the strix have become. For another, we are going to be taking this one step at a time. Focus on building relationships with your family first. It is, after all, something you have been deeply desiring for many years." Kavi spread his wings, and flew off the branch. He disappeared above the leaves, flying higher and higher into the steadily graying sky.

Troy watched him leave, then looked back at the branch where the vulture once perched. Part of him wanted to claim that what happened didn't, but knew he would be only making himself a fool by doing so. He turned and began heading back to Andridis's farm. The whole time, he was thinking about the vulture and how Kavi had been around without Troy noticing. Well, he noticed, but he hadn't put anything together in regards to how there was one Egyptian vulture out of the several he encountered in North Africa was immaculately white compared to the dingy grayish wild ones. Surely, he should have noticed that vulture was different.

Even with his disbelief over the whole situation, Troy found he wasn't nearly as irritated by Kavi as he was by Anah when they first met. Kavi seemed more straightforward with his answers. He admitted he was going to be involved with the seer's vision. He explained why he couldn't meet Troy sooner, and he sounded like he actually had an idea of what he was doing, unlike Anah who left everyone guessing right up until Dietrich's prophecy was fulfilled eighteen years later. Sure, he was keeping some things secret, but he was still far more open than Anah had been. Troy looked at the ground as he walked, telling himself he couldn't be too mad at Anah. She had a reason for keeping things secret, and she had said several times that she wished she never had to.

Troy returned to the farm to find Moffitt in the saddle of a gray horse, cantering around the inside of the fence. The lanky Englishman always looked happy on a horse. He called out, "Now, trot!" in Greek, and the horse gradually slowed to a trot. "Good boy!" Moffitt said.

Troy leaned against the fence, and was soon noticed by Lavrentis. The teenaged boy walked over, offering a warm smile. "Cousin Samuel," he said.

"You and your dad can just call me 'Sam,' okay?" Troy replied. "Less formal."

Lavrentis nodded. His smile faded a little. "If it is… okay for me to ask, were you thinking about Vissarion's vision?"

"Yeah, I was. Don't worry, I'm not just going to leave you all to the strix. I just… wasn't expecting to be dealing with this stuff when I came here."

"What did you come to Greece for, then?"

"Well, my grandparents are from here. I believe they would've been your great-great aunt and uncle. I think. I don't know how that works. Anyway, I wanted to see the place they grew up. I certainly wasn't expecting Alekos to tell me he found people that I'm related to, but I was okay with that. Interesting surprise. The thing with the vision… completely unexpected, and not something I want to deal with."

"I'm sorry."

"No, no, no, kid, it's okay. Don't apologize. Hey, it's—"

"I mean, I am sorry that this happened out of nowhere. It sort of happened out of nowhere for us, too. We have lost a lot of sheep, and we need our sheep. Plus, we are worried the strix will go after the horses… or us."

"I know. Trust me, I'm… I'm going to figure this out. First, I should apologize for the things I said in the house. I never should've said that Vissarion was a lunatic."

"You would not be the first. There are some people in town and at school that think he—and all seers—are insane."

"Well, I was wrong, and I said that out of defensiveness. It wasn't right."

"No. I won't argue with that." Lavrentis gave Troy a somewhat confused look. "What are you apologizing to me for, though? Shouldn't you be apologizing to Papa and Loukas?"

"I will, but I think I owe one to you as well."

Lavrentis's smile returned. "Thanks."

"Look, you're close enough to being an adult, so I'm going to treat you like one."

"I appreciate that."

"Good. So, I'm forgiven?"

"Of course you are."

Troy looked up as the sound of horse hooves drew nearer, and heard Moffitt say, "Hello, Troy."

"Hi, Moffitt," Troy said. When Moffitt continued on trotting around the field, Troy added, "Bye, Moffitt."

Lavrentis covered a laugh.

Troy climbed over the fence, not bothering to walk all the way back to the gate. "Alright. I'm going to go talk to your dad. Did Moffitt have lunch?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Because when it comes to stuff like horses and sand and stuff like that, sometimes he gets so excited about it that he forgets to eat."

"Ah."

"Troy! Don't turn him into a mother hen!" Moffitt called.

"You need it sometimes!" Troy called back. "Alright—" He ruffled Lavrentis's hair. "I'll be back." He started heading to the house, putting on a more serious expression as he prepared to confront his cousins. He wasn't surprised to find Anah was in the kitchen with Chrysa, helping make what smelled like a very delicious dinner. Troy had barely eaten anything during his talk with Vissarion, and missed out on lunch in order to take a walk. A growl from his stomach let him know just how much of a hypocrite he was for lecturing Moffitt. That was immediately followed by a hiss from the kitchen, and a roll of bread being thrown at him. "Ow! Damn it, Anah!" He managed to catch the bread before it fell on the floor, and went into the kitchen to wave the bread in front of the cobra. "You can talk. Use your words. Don't just throw things at people."

"There is butter and honey on the table, dear. Pick one, put it on your bread, and eat it before I shove it in your mouth!" Anah snapped. "You are as bad as Moffitt, and do not try to pretend you are not!"

Troy gave a heavy sigh and rolled his eyes before slapping a thick pad of butter on the bread. The bread tasted similar to what his grandmother would always have freshly baked every time he and David visited on the weekend. Yes, it was similar, but it was missing something that made it exactly like hers, and he couldn't pinpoint what. Perhaps it was that she didn't make it, and that he wouldn't get to experience it ever again. He finished the bread before finding Vasilakis, Andridis, and Kappoulis in a large sitting room. The windows were open, and Kappoulis's cigarette smoke was lazily flowing outside. It was easy to look out and see Moffitt riding the gray horse. Bookshelves, paintings, and mounted rifles lined the walls, and an unlit fireplace sat at one end.

"Never in my life did I think I would meet a snake who knows and loves to cook," Andridis said.

"Yep. It came in handy quite a few times during the war," Troy replied.

Vasilakis cleared his throat. "We can tell our stories from the war later. Samuel, we were… talking about—"

"Me? I had a feeling, given how badly I screwed everything up."

"To be fair, we did not go about this very well, either," Kappoulis said. "That is my fault."

"Yes," Andridis added. "The last few weeks have been stressful, with the strix. You arrive—the jackal warrior—and I think we let our excitement and desperation get in the way. Alekos told us that you did come to Greece for a reason, and this vision is not that reason. So," he glanced at Kappoulis, "We would like to offer an apology."

"Apology accepted," Troy said. "I have an apology as well, for… for how I reacted to the vision, and for claiming Vissarion is a lunatic."

"So, now we can start with a clean slate." Kappoulis's expression became warmer, and he gestured to a chair. "Please, sit."

Troy took a seat, unsure of what to start talking about. Fortunately, he wasn't the one starting the conversation.

"The last thing I expected to learn was that a relative from a side of the family that moved to the United States nearly ninety years ago would be coming for a visit," Kappoulis said. "Just to clarify, I am the grandson of your grandfather's youngest brother. My mother is his daughter. She is still alive, albeit not as active as she once was. My father sadly passed away just a few years ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"It is alright. He lived a long, happy life. One of the best saddle-makers along the whole Gulf of Corinth. I learned everything I ever needed to know about horses from him."

Troy tried to keep his mind off his own father. "You work with horses?"

"I breed horses. All purposes. Working, pleasure riding, show riding, racing. Anything you could think of, I have a horse for you."

"Nice." Troy kept his expression neutral, despite knowing he would be telling his story soon enough. "Karolos? What's your lineage?"

"I am also from your grandfather's side of the family," Andridis said. "His older sister—not the oldest, second oldest—married a runaway from a circus. My poor grandfather was forced to be an acrobat. Made to travel all over Europe before returning to Greece, deciding he had enough of how he was treated, and ran off. My grandmother gave him shelter, nursed him to health, fell in love, and within a few months, they were married. They had my father, who, just like his own parents, greatly enjoyed a simple life, and that was passed on to me. The sheep farm I have now was theirs."

"Your grandfather was lucky to find people to take care of him."

"Oh, yes, but the life he had at the circus never truly left. The crack of a whip would upset him terribly."

A cold feeling crept down Troy's spine as his mind turned to the regular whippings he received in Beckmann's camp. He rubbed his face, trying not to let himself drown in his own memories.

"Are you alright, Samuel?" Andridis's face was full of concern. "Why, you look a bit ill—"

"No, no, I'm… I'm alright." Troy drew in a breath. "Well, I guess I should talk about where I came from and what brought me here." He took his cigarettes and lighter out of his shirt pocket. He was buying himself some time to think about how he wanted to tell his story, though it wasn't very much time. Once his cigarette was lit, his lighter was away, and he had exhaled his first breath of smoke, he was out of time. He decided he would spare no details. He hardly knew Andridis and Kappoulis, but he didn't want to hide anything from them, not if he was going to have a good relationship with them. It was especially difficult to talk about what happened in the aftermath of the deaths of his grandparents and his father, and how life went from relatively pleasant to something resembling a nightmare. He took a lot of pauses when talking about how much his mother changed, but his cousins were listening the whole way.

Being this vulnerable in front of strangers would have been unthinkable years ago. It was draining, and only got more draining as Troy continued. He noticed Andridis giving him sympathetic looks, while Kappoulis appeared to be thinking. Vasilakis hadn't heard the vast majority of Troy's past, and he, too, was looking at him with sympathy, as well as surprise.

"To be honest, I understand where your father came from," Kappoulis said. "At the same time, his belief in simply getting an education to produce wealth was misguided, and how your mother treated you afterward was nothing short of reprehensible."

"Horrible. I cannot imagine treating Lavrentis like that," Andridis said. "And she just killed a horse for getting spooked…" He shook his head and cursed aloud.

"The thing is, we still don't know for certain what happened to Rainflower," Troy said.

"The patterns of your mother's behavior leans heavily toward she ordered Rainflower's demise, especially since it sounds like she blamed the horse for killing your father. You're lucky she did not do that to you as well," Kappoulis said. "In any case, that was an awful situation for you to be in."

"Indeed." Andridis looked out the window at where Moffitt was showing Lavrentis some riding techniques. "Grief is something we all must learn to deal with, and it is something I would never wish on anyone."

"No. Mom took hers, and… decided to make it seem like I was the cause of all her problems," Troy said. "I knew damn well that wasn't the case, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't have moments where I wondered if maybe I was the problem."

"We have both worked with horses long enough to know that it doesn't take much to scare them," Kappoulis said. "Accidents happen, even with someone well-trained."

"On one hand, I learned how to ride from my father. On the other, he was rougher with the horses compared to me. I know that if he had been a bit less forceful with Rainflower, she wouldn't have gotten stressed, which means she wouldn't have trampled him. He might still be alive today, but… I don't know if that would make things better. I think the pressure to go to college would've been a lot worse."

"All the stories we heard about your grandparents from ours said that they were very sweet, kind people, who saw the best in others no matter what walk of life they came from. You going or not going to a university would not have changed how much they loved you."

Andridis nodded in agreement. "It does not change how we see you. Yes, you have many more choices in America of where you want to take your life, but you made the choice to stay in agriculture. You were not forced into it. You wanted that to be your future. I don't think that is something to be ashamed of."

"I mean, I know if you met my mother, she would claim I'm lying," Troy said.

"That would be up to us to decide." Kappoulis took a draw on his cigarette. "Your British friend, Jack, came to your defense when I said that your stubbornness in regards to the vision was a sign of stupidity. He seemed genuine in his words."

"Well, Moffitt hates lying, so that doesn't surprise me." Troy looked out the window to watch Moffitt and Lavrentis continue to bond over horses. He felt more comfortable talking to his newfound relatives, and was surprised at how quickly they accepted him. He was still hoping to have a chance at talking to them individually, and get to know them both better. At least he was off to a better start.

Moffitt was a little surprised to see that Troy looked a bit calmer coming back from his walk. He had been alone with nothing but his thoughts. It seemed far more likely that he would have returned looking frustrated or moody. Well, better calm than not. Moffitt decided he would talk to Troy later and give him a chance to interact with his relatives.

After giving a few riding pointers to Lavrentis, Moffitt and the boy took care of getting Sendoa rubbed down and cooled off, then let the horse rest. A serpentine presence made itself known somewhere in the sheep pasture. Moffitt could feel it prodding at his brain. He looked around, trying to pinpoint where the snake was, then sensed it by the southeasternmost corner.

"You alright?" Lavrentis asked.

"Yes. Perfectly alright. There's a snake in the field," Moffitt said.

They both walked all the way out to the corner of the sheep pasture, with Lavrentis gently moving the woolly members of the flock out of the way with his crook. Sure enough, a long, chocolate-brown snake, speckled with white, was exploring the fence post. "Hello." Moffitt gently pulled the snake from the post. "This is an Aesculapian snake, one of the bigger colubrid species in Europe."

"I know. I borrowed a book from my school's library when I started doing more work around the farm to learn how to identify the snakes living around here. These are great because they keep rodents out of the feed," Lavrentis said.

"Well, they are, along with many other species, known as rat snakes for a reason." Moffitt let the Aesculapian snake crawl up his arm to his shoulders. "If you ever come to Cambridge, the head researcher for snakes, Doctor Millington, has an Indian rat snake as a pet, along with a boa constrictor."

"I have only seen pictures of boas. They are massive, aren't they?"

"Indeed they are, but they are a joy to hold." Moffitt stood with the snake draped around his shoulders, and held out his hand to the fence post to let it crawl off. "There you are. Thank you for being so docile."

They were already heading back to the house when Andridis stepped outside, calling, "Lavrentis! Jack! Dinner is ready!"

Everyone's mood from earlier had definitely changed when Moffitt entered the house. He noticed Troy seemed a lot happier, talking with his Greek cousins like they had known each other forever. After everyone was seated around the table, the food was served. The Greeks all knew what they liked, leaving Moffitt to sample each course. He was aware that Greek cuisine often featured sweeter spices in typically savory foods. Nutmeg in lamb was a new experience. He figured it would take some getting used to, but the meat itself was cooked perfectly. Not a dry spot to be tasted. He ate while listening to Troy recount memories of his grandparents' cooking on Christmas and Easter, and realized it was probably the happiest he had ever seen Troy talking about his family. There was no trace of sadness or anger.

The sun had set completely by the time dinner was over, and a gentle rain began falling over the Mediterranean landscape. Andridis had gotten up to turn on the lamps and close the windows. He seemed extra cautious about the windows, and asked Lavrentis if the horses were safe in the stables. Fortunately, they were.

Anah left Moffitt's shoulders to help clean up, and Moffitt, having thoroughly enjoyed his first time having a real Greek dinner, waited until he was in the sitting room with the other men—and out of Anah's sight—to loosen his belt and sit in a more comfortable position. Almost as soon as he finished adjusting his belt, he heard Anah call out, "There will be dessert in a little while!"

"Oh, bloody hell," Moffitt muttered.

Troy grinned before leaning over to pat Moffitt's shoulder. "I'm pretty sure I can count on my hands the amount of times you've actually enjoyed yourself at a dinner."

"Hush. I feel fine right now, but Anah is going to insist on me having dessert, and I'd rather not at the moment. I might burst!"

"Then take a quick nap beforehand."

"Fine, but please remind me there's something we need to talk about when we return to the hotel."

"Alright. There's something I want to talk about with you as well."

"Fair enough." Moffitt wasn't sure why he even attempted taking a nap, when Troy, his cousins, and Vasilakis all were talking, and quite loudly. He eventually sat up, listening to the conversation, but not saying anything unless he was spoken to. At some point, he overheard another conversation outside. The Aesculapian snake, along with another.

"The strix! The moon has risen! The strix are coming! Get underground!" the snake called to his companion.

Moffitt's blood ran cold. He stood, and touched the window curtains to pull them back, just a little. There was nothing at first, but then spotted three huge owls flying above the hill that bordered the eastern fence of Andridis's property. From the sitting room window, Moffitt couldn't see any details, other than they were much bigger than any other owl he had ever seen. They were also distorted a bit by the rain dripping down the glass. He watched one swoop down, and an icy feeling shot down his spine as he worried the strix had gone for one of the sheep. When the strix flew up a moment later, Moffitt saw a fox in the bird's talons. He could see the fox struggling, and quickly closed the curtains, unable to watch anymore. He hadn't realized that silence fell over the room, and that everyone was looking at him.

"You okay?" Troy asked.

"I… um… th-there're strix out. They… They took a wild fox. I-I heard two snakes outside talking about hiding, so I got up to look."

"Better a fox than one of the sheep," Andridis said.

"They are actually behaving normally tonight," Kappoulis said. "It might be best you head back to your hotel while they are occupied."

"I parked the car in Karolos's garage," Vasilakis said. "The walk will not be far."

"Alright, but you should leave before too long." Kappoulis gestured toward the kitchen. "After dessert, perhaps."

Troy nodded in agreement. His cheer had all but faded completely.

When Anah was told about the strix, her mood changed as well. She wasn't nearly as demanding as earlier, and didn't argue when Moffitt took only a small slice of custard pie. They still tried to end the evening on a good note, and promised to return to the farm in the morning.

The rain came down a little harder as Vasilakis led Moffitt, Anah, and Troy outside. They got into the car, and began driving off the property. Things were quiet until they were on a road to Galaxidi, when Vasilakis said, "Well, that could have ended much worse. I am glad you and your cousins made things work, Samuel."

"Yeah. Today's been…" Troy looked like he was struggling for words.

"A bit busy?" Moffitt suggested.

"Yeah. That. I don't think I've ever been hit with so many revelations in one day before. First, I have cousins who want to meet me. Next, I'm the subject of a seer's vision involving strix. What's next?"

Moffitt shrugged. "You drink tea?"

Troy gave him a look. "I'll eat my hat before I drink tea."

Vasilakis laughed, and Troy elbowed him.

Moffitt managed a smirk of his own, but kept glancing out the window, hoping and praying the strix knew nothing of the vision of the jackal warrior.