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"Besides," Kernel adds, "if the demons are still at the house"

"We weren&039;t attacked by deazes with awp at her Then, without discussing it, Kernel turns away and his hands beco aback to the human universe

Beranabus crosses first I&039;m not far behind I find myself in a hospital corridor It looks like the here they keep newborn babies Bec is on the floor close to us There are two demons One has the features of an anteater, but sports several snouts The other is soe politeness-he&039;s ultra protective of his little Bec

"What do the pickings look like now?" he asks as Kernel, Shark and Meera step through after us In response, the demons bolt for safety Kernel and the Disciples race after the a da else exceptback down the corridor "Hurry He was fighting a de strides, readying ns of struggle and death in some of them, but no Dervish I pause at the door of what looks to be an erunts

Entering, I spot Dervish to my left, half-obscured by an overturned bed There&039;s a deolden shell It&039;s snapping at Dervish&039;s face,open and shut I&039;h its protective shell It shrieks and turns to deal withWhen I&039;m sure it&039;s dead, I toss it aside and bend over my startled, bleary-eyed uncle He slaps atit hard to focus

"Hey, baldy," I chuckle "Things must be bad when you can&039;t squish a damn cockroach"

Dervish relaxes and his eyes settle onhis aro all blubbery onback sobs

Dervish pushes himself away, touches my face onder, then says in that wry tone I recall so well, "You could have sent runt, and we bea while the Disciples cleanse the hospital of demons I should help theet with Dervish Things have a habit of ets involved Once they finish off the last deht not be any tie chunk of my life to Beranabus&039;s cause I&039; wasn&039;t hile," I say, nudging Dervish in the ribs (but gently-he looks like blood e) "You told me I should watch ical as ever," Dervish scowls "I thought you ht have matured while you were away, but obviously you haven&039;t"

"Seriously, how have you been?" I ask

"Apart fro older than I&039;d have thought possible "I&039;m about ready to follow Billy into the wide blue yonder"

My face stiffens "Don&039;t say that, not even joking"

"No joke," he sighs "I was given a single task by Beranabus-guard the entrance to the cave- and I screwed it up I told Billy&039;s mum I&039;d look after him-some job I did of that I took you in and promised you&039;d be safe with me, then"

"I was safe with you"

"Yeah, I really protected you Lord Loss and his faet anywhere near you on my watch, did they?"

"That wasn&039;t your fault," I tell him heavily "You did the best you could For me and Bill-E"

"Then why is he dead and why are you lost to e," I say "Life sucks for s happen to those of us who get involved, but if we didn&039;t fight, we&039;d be in an even worse state None of it&039;s your fault, any more than it&039;s the fault of the moon or the stars"

Dervish nods slowly, then arches an eyebrow "The et poetical when I&039;h This is what I love best about my relationship with Dervish-theto think of so to say when Beranabus appears He&039;s using baby-wipes to clean his hands

"Still alive?" he asks Dervish

"Just about"

"We&039;re finished here Tio"

It&039;s not fair We&039;ve only had a few ether I want to ask Dervish about Bec and how they&039;re coping How he explained Bill-E&039;s disappearance to our neighbours What&039;s happening with my friends I want to complain about my life with Beranabus and boast about all the action I&039;ve seen

But those are childish, selfish wishes We&039;re in the middle of a maternity ward I&039;ve seen several dead and dismembered bodies already-nurses, mothers, babies There are probably dozens hout the hospital I&039;d be the shallowest person in the universe if, in the face of all that tragedy, I h ti?" I ask

"The roof," Beranabus says "We need to discuss the situation before ht Bec says the demons who struck were led by Juni Swan" I stare at him incredulously, then start to shout questions "Not now!" Beranabus stops me "We&039;ll talk about it on the roof"

"I don&039;t think I canbeneath his breath-it sounds like, "I hate the damn Gradys!"- then picks up Dervish

"I can carry hirunts "Keep watch for any de Dervish on his back, the ician heads for the stairs I follow a metre behind, eyes peeled for monsters all the way up the blood-drenched steps to the roof