The smile that phrase engenders is no kinder than the broader promise it contains.

"So we have."

These people, the people of Thorne and all those they love and all who might defend them, will come to regret what they have done. The pleasure he takes from this thought is that of a child closing his hand around a pebble, smooth and dark.

Ralston's reward: a momentary indulgence.

"Sitting up or lying down?"