The room was a slaughterhouse.
I stood with Samuel at the top of the circular row of stairs overlooking the seating area and Graver's body. Lin was with him still. She'd arranged his limbs and closed his eyes, then knelt beside him. The girl had not moved in long moments. I didn't know if she was praying or meditating or performing some other ritual, but whatever grieving process she was in the midst of, it seemed very private. I didn't have the heart to interrupt her.
Behind us on the ground, was the unconscious form of Thaddeus. We'd bound his limbs as tight as we could, using strips of cloth stolen from the no longer needed uniform of an unfortunate Steel Tower soldier. While Samuel and I dealt with Thaddeus, Lara had begun sifting through the butchered bodies, searching for wounded
