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"Physical defense is merely one sort of protection, and it’s the weaker of the two I want you to wear this" She grasped her pendant and lifted its chain over her head, then held it out tofrom her hand "But that’s your bloodstone" The source of Mab’s power and longevity She alore it, even when she changed her shape

"Not mine alone Your blood has become part of it, too"

"Just a drop or two" Over the centuries, Mab had infused the stone with her own blood many times The pendant was an essential part ofwithout it A few rown feeble and old with terrifying speed Her vitality had returned only with the bloodstone

"Take it," she urged "You may return it to me after we’ve dealt with Mallt-y-Nos" I didn’t flinch or pull away as she lifted the necklace over my head The bloodstone rested in the center of h it had its own beating heart

"Good" Mab’s crisp tone conveyed her satisfaction "Now, here is the gauntlet It was crafted by Mr Kane’s witch friend, Roxana, and her circle working overtiive it to the Night Hag, tell her to put it on, raise her ar, tyrd!’"

Falcon, coauntlet I held was a good copy The leather, worn se It even smelled old I couldn’t tell whether the silver einal exactly, but if I didn’t know better, I’d swear this was Mab’s glove Roxana and her witches had given Kane hisclose by," Mab said "When I hear the call, I’ll fly in"

I thought ofover of the feline brain, the kaleidoscope of ies, instinct, and sensation I didn’t ask whether Mab would have the presence of mind to stick with the plan once she shifted Her centuries of experience gave her control far beyond that of any other shapeshifter Likemoon almost full, the cat had taken over entirely Yet even on the first night of a full moon, Mab would stay in control

"Pob lwc" She touched her papery lips to my forehead "Good luck, child"

Mab backed away a few paces Closing her eyes, she raised her face toward the sky Energy shi at the top of her head and cascading down her body The energy flared, and froht a falcon shot skyward

Beautiful It was the cleanest shift I’d ever seen No pain, no contortion, no agonizing in-between stage Just intention, energy, change I wished I could shift half that well

Time to create my circle of protection For a moment, I wished Kane’s expensive witches were here to build a professional-strength circle Of course, they’d refused to do the job, ith itive froauntlet Still, as I stood in the pitch-dark field all alone, I wouldn’t have minded some backup

You have backup Trust in it

"Mab?" If anyone could figure out how to replicate Dad’s talking-falcon trick, it would be my aunt Yet the voice had seemed to emanate from inside my head

No answer

Could the voice be the Destroyer’s? Instinctively, I checked htly itchy, but as soon as my attention was on it, I felt a flare of heat I willed it down, and it subsided back to an itch

Focus, Vicky It was al would be here soon If she calove and order her hounds to attack No question

I faced east and called the first quarter Ie in the air, an electricity that seeaered after Mab’s shift were taken up and spun into the bubble of protection I wove I turned to the south, then the west, then the north, calling each quarter in turn Energy illulowed and pulsed

Turning back to the east, I corew co it on, hag

I listened The protective spheresounded in the distance As the pack approached, the pain that drove the hellhounds became audible, twined into each howl and cry Kane Kane was a that frantic need to outrun the inescapable pain Willing to do anything to , if all ell If our plan worked, only minutes remained before he was free of his prolea the circle with s bared as they came closer Closer A yelp sounded Five feet away, the pack leader cruh he’d hit a brick wall Others clambered over hi

From behind them came the slow, steady clop clop of a horse’s hooves Mallt-y-Nostoward me, but now she made it clear that she kept our appointradually frolossy hair of her youthful aspect Slowly, she steered her horse around the perimeter of the circle that protected rew plu flesh, beco skin and bones When she halted before me, a dried-out corpse stared down at me from her round