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"I won&039;t breathe a word," I pro "I&039;ll never return I swear!"

"I believe you," said Patsy "But it doesn&039;t much matter You know too et"

I couldn&039;t form a response I had no doubts Patsy and her friends would keepin control

"You can&039;t hold er pulsed low and heavy The fire blazing so close toone"

"Will they?" asked Patrick

I realized then that, even though their glaot the impression that they&039;d had lots of success with others Would PRIS forget er refused to dissipate The ugly elared at Patsy "I&039;m not one of your subjects! You can&039;t tell aze hardened "What are you, twelve? Put on your big-girl panties and deal with it"

Rage surged through et it under control Clenchingto the fire&039;s swellingtime I was furious At

"Do you see that?" asked Patsy

"Yes," said Gabriel "What is it?"

"Jay-sus,"I felt as though the very air aroundair felt hot, too

Gabriel grabbed his wife by the shoulders and tucked her behind him Patrick went to stand next to his friends They all stared at me

"You can&039;t make me stay here," I said My voice sounded odd Deep and raspy Even my words felt like they were on fire

"De else," said Gabriel "She&039;slike this"

"Gabriel, I think it&039;s wise to get Patsy out of here"

"Are you kidding?" asked Patsy "I&039;ll blast her or soue, sweetheart," said Gabriel "Think of our babies"

I heard their conversation, but I no longer cared what they said, what they thought, what they did I watched Gabriel and Patsy retreat My vision was dark around the edges, as if I were viewing the world through binoculars The music rose, triumphant

"Libby," said Patrick, his voice low and calm "We didn&039;t mean to upset you"

What a liar Electric heat crackled along , nearly alive I had no controlwhatever-this-was controlledso around me picked up books from the end tables, tossed lamps to the floor The coffee table exploded Shards flew everywhere Mangled wood joined the debris zipping aroundfilled the air like snow

I looked down, dispassionate, and saw fla my skin I knew I should be afraid, but I wasn&039;t This was part of me Part of who I was now The fire told me the truth, and I embraced it I couldn&039;t see Patrick He&039;d probably left, too

The next burst of energy hit the hearth Stone shattered White dust plu the cozy fire I felt h the roaring symphony in my head I turned toward the doorway He stood there, the cup of tea in his hand falling to the floor

He walked into the es flapped at him Debris pummeled him He didn&039;t stop He didn&039;t look away

Thepower drain I collapsed, or would have Ralph scooped ainst my forehead

"It&039;s okay," hehe stood there holding h for h to realize that Patrick hadn&039;t made it out of the room

"Oh my God" I scrambled out of Ralph&039;s embrace He was so surprised at round and i so still on the floor My insides quivered coldly

Wood and stone shards were embedded in his body Most of the projectiles were se, probably as left of a coffee table leg Blood spattered his clothes His eyes were closed and he was so li out all the pieces I was no longer worried about leaving Broken Heart I orried about leaving the earthly plane No one I&039;dtypes

"Libby" Ralph crouched besidehands with his "It&039;s not like in the movies A stake to the heart doesn&039;t kill the undead"

"Are you sure?"

"I told you The only way to kill us is to reht" Ralph&039;s gaze was kind And he wasn&039;t freaking out, so I had to believe that Patrick would be okay "Stay here, Libby I&039;ll get help"

I nodded I looked at Patrick I didn&039;t know him Hell, I didn&039;t even like him I hadn&039;t meant to do this Yeah, I could try to run But even if I ht, it didn&039;t mean I&039;d escape them forever They had pushedhad happened But I couldn&039;t go I needed to fixvarabbed the stake I&039;d unintentionally jabbed into Patrick&039;s heart and yanked it out Blood burbled out of the jagged hole Oh, God I took offa sharp object was easy enough I grabbed a sliver of stone and slashedlike hell, but I&039; stabbed in the heart I held ainst Patrick&039;shappened When Patrick&039;s lips finallyinto

He drank and drank After a while, I felt light-headed and dizzy My vision grayed My hand slipped away froainst his injury The one Relief flooded me He would be okay