of the handle groaned unde

papers. Our ties are sev

harsh laugh, a sou

the words clipped and sharp. "You a

rm, another my shoulder, and I was thrown aside. My body struc

g myself against th

onto the pavement, pulled out a ste

he lock; a sharp crack follo

r apart, tearing th

eprints spilled out, scatter

own tumbled into the daylight. The white silk, meant for a

n stepped out, the sharp tap of her heels on

arm, her eyes immediately fixing on t

at the dress with a manicur

as fixed entire

usted the dirt off the white fabric bef

as entire

for her frame, and the le

rowned in

loud enough for the entire street to

ted for a moment, the threads groaning under the strain, before a long, te

the fabric, he subconsci

e the initials SN were embroid

ed out as she pulled at a shredded panel of silk. "I

arply, tossing the destr

ger mattered. On

ng a shock of pain up through my bones, and reached out to gather the

forward, grabb

ed me b

it!" he

y heels slipping on

ctly into the sharp metal edge of a shattere

n my abdomen. It was not a blow, but

e ground, my lungs

ous to be anything but blood. I looked down. A dar

d up at

t froze, and the colour drained from