"Can you really stand by and watch him die for something he didn't do?"
"How do you know he didn't infect you on purpose?"
"I was there. He fell on top of me with two of the snake things riding him. It was an accident. He kept them from cutting out my heart. He saved my life, Richard, and this is damn poor payment."
"He couldn't have turned his claws aside at the last minute?" Richard asked.
"No, it all happened too fast."
He laughed, but it was bitter. "You've been around us so long, and you still don't understand what we are. I could turn aside in less than a blink of an eye. Gregory isn't slower than I am. As a leopard he's quicker, more agile."
"Are you saying he did this on purpose?"
"I'm saying that he had a fraction of a second to decide what he'd do, and he decided to keep you as their Nimir-Ra. He made the choice to take you from me."
"And you're going to make him pay for that. Is that it?"
"Yeah, that's it."
"With his life?"
He sighed. "I don't want him dead, Anita. But when I first found out what he'd done, I wanted to kill him myself. I wanted it so badly I didn't trust myself around him, so I had him taken somewhere safe until I could cool down. But Jacob got wind of it, and forced a vote."
"Who's Jacob?"
"My new Geri, third in charge behind Sylvie."
"I've never heard of him before."
"He's new."
"Damn, third in line, and he's new. He's either a very good fighter, or a very vicious one, to win that many fights in less than half a year."
"He's good, and he's vicious."
"Is he ambitious?" I asked.
"Why?"
"If Jacob hadn't forced a vote, would you have given Gregory back to me?
He remained quiet so long, that I finally asked, "You still there?"
"I'm here. Yes, I would have given him back to you. I can't kill him for what he's done."
"So Jacob set in motion something that's stripped you of a powerful ally-- me---and forced you to declare war on another group--the wereleopards. He's been a busy boy."
"He's just doing what he thinks is right."
"Jesus, Richard, how can you still be this naive?"
"You think he wants my job?"
"You know he wants your job. I can hear it in your voice."
"If I'm not strong enough to hold the pack, then it's Jacob's prerogative to challenge me. But he's got to defeat Sylvie first, and she's as good as he is-- and as vicious."
"How big is Jacob?"