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"You&039;re going to what?" Sarah grabbed my arm as I was about to knock at the door "Are you crazy? Oh, what a? You don&039;t even have a Taser"

"No, but I do have a handy little skill that allows oing to strike Carol Lee with lightning? That could kill her!"

"Not if I can control it properly" I took a deep breath, pushing aside the doubting thoughts, focusing on what I needed to do "A Taser is a device which uses a high-voltage pulse of electricity tothe neurotrans the nervous system Carol will be temporarily immobilized, but not permanently harmed"

Overhead, my little cloud formed I spreada concentrated electrical charge pulled frole, the sensation spreading upe electrical fence Sarah watched with open-ht for intensified as the ball shrunk into a small blue orb between my palms

"Knock on the door," I told Sarah, e where I wanted it

"Portia - "

"Please, Sarah I don&039;t knoill happen if I stop focusing on this"

"I hope to god you knohat you&039;re doing," she said, shaking her head, but knocking on the door

It took about sixty seconds, but the door finally opened up a few inches, with Carol Lee&039;s white, expressionless face visible "What do you want?" she asked

"The truth," I told her, flinging the electrical charge directly at her Her eyes widened for aher backward a few feet

"I knew it! You&039;ve killed her!" Sarah pronounced as I pushed open the door and knelt down by Carol&039;s supine figure My hands were shaking as I checked her pulse

"No, she&039;s alive Her pulse is a bit rocky, but fine" Carol&039;s eyes were open, unblinking, and flat "Go get the car We&039;ll get her into it and restrained before she comes out of this"

Sarah stood abovenote clearly evident in her voice "Portia, I never thought the day would come when I&039;d find you, thean unarmed, innocent woman - "

"Innocent,into the kitchen to look for some twine or duct tape I could use to bind her aret Milo&039;s wife securely bound and bundled into the rental car before she came out of her shocked state After five minutes of non-stop abuse hurled from where she lay on the backseat, the noise abated once we applied a scarf in the for, but, thankfully, it was subdued enough to ignore

"Where are we going?" Sarah asked as I returned toour victim

"The Court of Divine Blood"

Sarahed gurgles from the backseat filled the car as we drove to the castle I knew Sarah was as uneasy as I was over the potentially da, but I saw no other solution available to me The silence bore down heavily onthat I hadn&039;t oing to notice this?" Sarah said twentyfilled the courtyard of the castle

I prodded Milo&039;s wife forward, ignoring her glare of pure veno one hand on her wrists bound behind her back "I&039;, but I don&039;t really care It&039;s difficult enough kidnapping soo without interference fro the easiest way out"

The fog, my lack of familiarity with the castle, and Carol Lee&039;s repeated, abortive atteood three times the normal amount of time it would have taken to find the room that opened into the portal to the Court, but at last we arrived at our goal

I saw Carol eyeing the s and grabbed onto her shoulders with both hands, shoving her toward the entrance to the Court

"Portia, are you sure - " Sarah started to say, doubt evident on her face as we approached the fuzzy portal

"Reasonably sure I&039;ve examined the evidence and can&039;t come to any other conclusion Deep breath, everyone It&039;s showti heaven is in the pursuit of sorumbled as we marched to the center of the town square The usual business prevailed: people talking in s their brisk trade, other people busily hurrying hither and yon At the sight of usin the center of their activities, everyone froze

"Hello, again," I said, recognizing a few (albeit startled) faces fro Theo?

An equally startled silence filledwhat you asked - resolving one of our proble to need a little help in getting my prisoner to the mare The people in the square seeue state

Theo seemed to share their reaction, at least for a few seconds Prisoner?

Yes I kidnapped Milo Lee&039;s wife and brought her here

A soft sigh echoed into react to you kidnapping a h trouble -

Carol Lee took advantage of rip, racing toward the doorway that led back to the land of reality

"Oh, no you don&039;t!" I took a leap that would do a broad ju the heel of her shoe as I fell She went down just as o of her despite the stars that seemed to weave around in front of me

"Such an entrance you apparently desire tofoot "I could alain," I ground out as I got toprisoner

Gabriel the cherub pursed his lips as he eyed first the worey duct tape, thento e of the situation

"I see you&039;ve added abduction to your resu upward "As if h?"

"Portia didn&039;t ive ht her bonds, her eyes wild "If you knew her, you&039;d realize that she&039;s incapable of so herself backward, her head knocking into s out fro her bound ar in her ear in as ain, and I&039;ll break both your arms"

Gabriel&039;s eyebrows rose

"There are, naturally, different interpretations on the word &039;i as if she was about to explain the whole circu to make him understand," I interrupted "Gabriel has his mind already made up about me"

"Gabriel?" Sarah&039;s face took on an awe-struck cast "Gabriel?"

"Not that Gabriel," he said, looking annoyed "What is it with you mortals? Is there only one Gabriel you know?"

Sarah nodded, disappointment rife in her eyes

"This Gabriel is a cherub," I said, catching sight of a fa well into the shadows "And not a particularly nice one Come on, Carol, we have a little business with some friends of yours"

"I could make a comment about your niceness as well, virtue," Gabriel called after us as we left him "But I am too much a cherub to do so!"

"What&039;s his proble over her shoulder at him

"He&039;s a bit pissed that I refused to let hiather - honestly, it could be just about anything I , and offended him I&039;ve never felt so out of my depths in avepat on the arm "Gabriel may be a handsome devil, but he&039;s no Theo"

"Indeed he isn&039;t"

Theo&039;s eyes were shaded by the briht color of his irises even before I got up close to hin

"I don&039;t suppose you&039;d care to explain just why you felt it necessary to kidnap so to clear your nae?" Theo asked

"I told her it wasn&039;t a good idea," Sarah piped in "But you kno Portia is - once she has a goal in mind, she moves heaven and earth to achieve it It must be all that science stuff - she&039;s so linear in the way she thinks"

"She can be," Theo said, his gaze darkening into sohtfulness "Which leads y after all It&039;s been , so to speak"

"Thank you, I will graciously accept your apology Is there a oing to find Carol very interesting"

Theo gave the bound wo look Who is this?

Milo&039;s wife, Carol Lee

Theo waited for nize her? She&039;s an old friend of yours

His eyes narrowed as he looked her overto breakhatred at us

I knew the instant Theo recognized her His eyes widened as he took a step toward her

"I think we should let that wait for the mare," I told him "Are they in the library, do you know?"

"I have no idea where they are, but ill find out," he said, stepping past us, careful not to leave the shade of the building as he hailed a young girl passing on a brightly colored bike He had a few estured to us to follow hier says that two of the round, shrieking behind her gag Theo simply hoisted her onto his shoulders and carried her to the area of the Court containing the offices and grand apart I glanced back to where she was looking Just about everyone who had been in the town square was following behind us, with others strea in to swell their ranks as we proceeded to the other section of the city

This should prove to be interesting, Theo said as aited for the same dapifer who had taken care of us a few days before to determine if the mare would see us Added to what I found out while you were so industriously occupied, I believe we may have a solution

Oh, I can&039;t believe I didn&039;t ask you about that! Did you talk to Terrin? What did you find out?

"Their graces the ranted you an audience," the dapifer said, his lips athered crowd behind us "I believe the ballroom will be best This way, please"

What did Terrin tell you?

Have you ever heard of renascence?

Renaissance? Sure