Konrad had reached that stage of the case where, he felt, the acquisition of one or two key pieces of information would be enough to resolve all of his questions. At the moment, though, he had no real leads to follow up himself; he must wait, patiently, upon the revelations of others.
Patience was not one of his particular talents. By the time his serpents finally returned, it was three in the morning and he had taken to pacing up and down in front of his dying fire.
Serpent, in fact, as it was only Eetapi who came streaming through the crack in his window and materialised before him. Master! she hissed, in tones of great excitement. You must accompany me at once!
Konrad needed no second invitation. Within minutes he had donned his hat and coat and yanked open his front door, heedless o
