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Yes, supposedly a deht be haunted She hadn’t quite believed it But she’d been different then Nownow she could believe anything Lilith House had assured that

My utlory!

She fell to her knees beside a towering fir, going still as she attempted to catch her breath Her heart beat loudly in her ears, blood whooshing, sending waves of throbbing pain to her wound Her hand found the rough bark of the tree and she gripped its solidity, leaning against its trunk as she listened Their voices were farther away now, but she could still hear the closer She had no time to waste

But she needed to rest So badly She had to lie still for afor soht hole up like a wounded animal until the threat was over

The leather bag she had strapped across her body rubbed against her wound and she adjusted it as she pulled herself to her feet

A soft noise to her righta defensive crouch A red fox stood in a thin clearing, staring, its a She released a harsh exhale, straightening as she blinked at the aniht of the injured creatures the kid had treated, hiding theh to be set free At the thought of the kid’s tender heart, regret slammed into her chest like the bullet in her back had done Little Dreamboat I’m sorry I left you behind I’h Her hand went to her round stomach She had someone more helpless to protect now The kid could handle hier than he knew

The fox’s ears pricked as the sound of thecloser bounced off the trees The voices were suddenly very close and she didn’t reainst the tree Had she drifted off? The fox stared at her for another moment and then darted in the opposite direction from where she stood

“There!” one of thethe movement of the fox

Kandace didn’t hesitate She ran the other eaving, stu weaker by theto her body as shedoith a painful jolt For a ht there on the forest floor and justgiving up It would be so easy She rolled to her back, gazing up at the stars through a break in the branches

Don’t give up on yourself I haven’t She heard her friend Scarlett’s passionate tone in her head, the words she’d said to her not so long ago and the memory bolstered her Kandace pulled herself slowly to her feet She had given up on herself She’d rets She hadn’t listened to Scarlett then, the only real friend she’d ever had, but she’d listen to her now She wouldn’t give up, not when it mattered most