Of 706 Officers of General rank, 403 had been liquidated in the purge. Three out of five Marshals had been shot. This left a dearth of talent in the l...adership of the Army and those who were left were disinclined to display too much initiative.A unit commander, for instance, who found himself surrounded waited for orders from up the chain before he would do anything. Even the most logical maneuvre required authority, and who could blame a commander? The Ivan in Finland gave nothing away in. He could feel her heartbeat match his in a steady rhythm as her eyes closed enjoying the taste of him. Never in her life as a vampire had she tasted something so rich that it seemed almost overwhelming to her tongue. Soon she let go walking unsteadily away from him. Anthony stood witness to a change in her. The female vampire fell to the ground convulsing though not in pain. When it was over she gave a great gasp breathing for the first time since becoming a vampire and stood up. Warmth colored. But I was never the knight in shining armor. The fantasy cast me in a different role. I was The Male: the Male to whom all females must submit by right of conquest. The wicked baron who chained the poor girl in his dungeon. He never did get as much publicity as good old Galahad. But without him there would never have been a romantic legend." "Terry was entrancingly attuned. She always resisted in about the right degree to maintain validity. The degree of resistance always briefed me as to what. .." Gil said, smiling and raising his own glass. "Shall we drink a toast... to the future happiness of the Martins?"They did, zestfully, each raising his glass, then sipping from it. After, Jan said: "Darrel thought he might be a little late, so I've asked Rosita to slow down dinner, Darling." Fine," Gil replied, dropping down beside her on the davenport and reaching for her slender, soft, hand. "I still don't know how you did it, Baby, but I'm not complaining. If Darrel told you he'd endorse.