" Then she chuckled, "Once you have finished, we can eat of this venison which I have been cooking."Elam smelled the bowl, frowned at the thought of h...r blood mixing within the liquid, hesitantly, took a small sip, then began to set it down. "You must drink it all, otherwise the spirits won't give you the gift that they have prepared for you!"The boy smiled, "A gift?" Elam liked getting gifts, the last he had ever remembered was before he left Boston, when both of his parents were still. We had composed our own vows, which alsorepresented the somewhat unique nature of us. Many, but not all present knowthe details. When we got to the "I Do" part, I paused for a few seconds, andglanced at Sarah, who winked at me. After we were pronounced as man and wife,I fell into John's loving embrace and embraced him. We kissed briefly butpassionately and there we were: Mr. and Mrs. John Robert Hathaway! The restwas a blur. John and I got into the wedding limo that took us back to ourhotel. " Of course, of course," the Trade Minister replied. "I just wanted you to see a couple of things before you went back. Firstly, I thought you might like to see my new house guest."I assumed he was talking about Cora and, in that, I was right. He showed me out of his lounge and down a corridor towards the back of the house. Steps ran down to a basement area. Along one wall were four identical doors, three were open showing small, windowless, rooms beyond. The fourth was closed. The Minister. "But, that's not what we came to talk to you about." We've figured out what we want to say in the mailing to the Defenders of Gaea members," Heather said. "Did you get the funding squared away?" Talked to the source last night," Mike said. "You can have what you need, but they still want to remain anonymous. You're to submit the actual bills to me, and they'll be paid. Go ahead and spend what you need to. If it involves travel expenses, or things like that, go ahead and spend the money. If you.