Ulrich watched the masked demon rush toward him.
In the darkness, the figure's outline came in fragments: the white glow of the half-mask, the dark sweep of a sleeve, the pale flash of metal clutched in one hand.
A dagger.
Or something shaped like one.
Ulrich did not believe it was the weapon from the black box.
The blade looked too ordinary. It was narrow and dark, without the elaborate runes or unnatural glow he would have expected from a demonic weapon prepared for the assassination of a queen.
Then what had been inside the box?
"Protect the Queen!" Commander Marx Lambert's voice thundered somewhere beyond the darkness. "The Prince and Princess as well!"
"Find Her Majesty!"
"Everyone step back!"
