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She flicked a glance behind her Morgead Blackthorn was seventeen, a year older than she, and her worst enery-and it didn't help that he was always saying she was all those things, too

"I told them three minutes," she said out loud "You want me to breakat hiot to keep track of bullets

The next thing she knew Morgead was knocking her backward He was lying on top of her So bark

Morgead's gelared down into hers "But they'renotrunning," he said with exaggerated patience "In case you hadn't noticed"

He was too close His hands were on either side of her head His weight was on her Jez kicked him off, furious with him and appalled at herself

"This is ht of it We play it my way!" she yelled

The skinheads were scattering anyway They'd finally realized that shooting was pointless They were running, crashing through the sword fern

"Okay, now!" Jez said "But the leader's mine"

There was a chorus of shouts and hunting calls froest and always thelike "Yeeeeeehaw" Then Thistle and Raven went, the slight blond and the tall dark girl sticking together as always Pierce hung back, staring with his cold eyes at a tree, waiting to give his prey the illusion of escaping

Jez didn't look to see what Morgead was doing Why should she care?

She started off in the direction the skinhead leader had taken But she didn't exactly take his path She went through the trees, juiant sequoias were the best; they had the thickest branches, although the wart like bulges called burls on the coastal redwoods were good landing places, too Jez ju acrobatic flips when she caught a branch just for the fun of it

She loved Muir Woods Even though all the wood around her was deadly-or maybe because it was

She liked taking risks And the place was beautiful: the cathedral silence, the reenness, the resinous smell

Last week they'd hunted seven gang members

throughGolden GateParkIt had been enjoyable, but not really private, and they couldn't let the huht back much Gunshots in the park would attract attention Muir Woods had been Jez's idea- they could kidnap the gangtheive theer

Jez squatted on a branch to catch her breath There just wasn't enough real danger in the world, she thought Not like the old days, when there were still vampire hunters left in the Bay Area Jez's parents had been killed by vampire hunters But now that they'd all been eli really scary anymore

She froze There was an al in the pine needles ahead of her Instantly she was on thefearlessly off the branch into space, landing on the spongy pine-needle carpet with her knees bent She turned and stood face-to-face with the skinhead

"Hey there," she said