"It is," de Carabas agreed, his own voice quiet. "You understand that I can't simply keep carrying it around on my person. It isn't that I don't trust Adam Young, but I have had to use this quite recently..."

He hesitated almost imperceptibly, then reached up and pulled down the cloth around his neck slightly, revealing a scar across his throat.

"I'd feel safer having the option open," he concluded after a moment, pulling the ascot back up to cover the scar once more.