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"Ow!" Peach said, and put her hand on the back of her head "What the - ?"

My heart pounded as the first dose of panic flooded lanced around, and saw the s her toward my front door, and said, "Inside!"

I heard the distinct wood-creaking sound I reot pelted, only this ti I looked toward Peach’s house and saw a dark gray haze forreen and lian to appear in its midst

"Get inside!" I yelled to Peach, then looked at Nick "Get her indown the street, at the pool of light under the streetlamp at the corner, where Millie stood in her bloodred dress, her arers flashed out froave a little screalanced behind us at Peach, as now surrounded by a tornado cone of flying walnuts and wild gray s to bat them off as if they were bees Nick,her way toward us, her fingers flicking out froical walnuts that were pelting Peach as she closed in I had nothing, no ic, not even an u: that kind of h!" I yelled, and started to run down the street, passing Nick as I gained speed I launchedher with round She made an "oomph" sound as she hit, and I hopped back to a crouch, ready to spring at her again

Millie scrambled to her feet and narrowed her eyes at me "This isn’t about you, Liv Go hoers, and behinddown the street, the walnuts in hot pursuit, continuing to pelt her from all directions She had her ar at her, h the air

When I looked at Nick, though, he was focused co out to Millie

"Millie?" he asked, his voice flat and dull "Are you okay?"

"Don’t touch her!" I said, and kicked at his arm to push him away just as Millie was about to take his hand

Nick looked ata bit of that dazed quality as he held his arm where I’d kicked hiious," I said quickly "She’s sick and she’s contagious and if you touch her"

Peach fell then, just a few feet away fro out of the air, throwing the her unconscious body I turned to Millie and grabbed her arm "Cut it out, Millie!"

She wrenched her arers and soainst un, only with a lotI cursed and rubbed my shoulder

"Goddamnit, Millie!"

Nick blinked, and looked at Millie "Millie? What’s going on?"

"She already has everything! She doesn’t get to have you, too!" And with that, Millie raised her hands, and there was ers I looked down the street to Peach’s body; gray s around her

"Nick," I said, but he was looking at Millie His face wasn’t tranced-out anyrabbed Millie’s forear?"

Millie’s fingers stopped , and I released a breath as I looked to Peach, expecting the gray s up speed

"I’," Millie said, her voice cold and sweet as she raised her hands, her palh ht of Cain, somewhere He was there; I could feel the thick blackness of his power, darker and nastier than

"You want me, you son of a bitch?" I hollered into the street "Then coet me! Leave them alone!"

As expected, there was no response I hunched over and dashed to Peach’s side, crouching over her as walnuts came at me from all directions; one zapped ot me in the shoulder; another on the hip Then there was a concentrated, thunderous sound around round, lifeless I raised my head just in tiray smoke that dissipated into the air, as if they had never been there at all

There was a touch onblindly at the attacker

"Liv!" Nick said, ju up his hands "Liv, it’s rass by the sidewalk and tried to catch my breath I couldn’t speak, I could barely breathe My heart couldn’t get a si erratically into drop ht there

Nick looked up and down the street, as if trying to get his bearings "What the hell just happened?" He glanced down at the ground, where Peach lay on her stomach, and he made a hollow sound and dropped to his knees at her side Gently, he rolled her over, looking at her bruised, unconscious body

"What happened?" He looked at ht, almost fevered, as he dialed 911 on the cell phone His voice shook a bit as he told them that we’d been attacked, and then he flipped the phone shut and tucked it in his pocket He leaned down over Peach and pulled her into his arroaned as her eyes fluttered

"Nicky?" she said

"Yeah, baby" His voice got stronger, for her, and he’d even ood hu ow"

"I know" He ran his hand over the unbruised side of her face "There are people co to help You just relax, okay?"

"What happened?"

A flash of disturbance ran through his expression, and he looked to me, a question on his face

"You don’t remember?" I asked quietly

He shook his head, just a bit, just enough to tellPeach

"Me, either," I lied Seemed the simplest of all my choices

He soing to be just fine"

He didn’t remember Probably, neither would Peach It was only then that I thought to glance up and down the street - a street on which you couldn’t open your refrigerator aton it the next day - and no one had cohts fro on so frohbors were ho

I turned my head the other way, toward the spot where Millie had been; there was no sign of her I reh, and the joy in her voice when she’d said, I’

It had been a lie, of course; she’d done some of it But not all

It was him, the son of a bitch He’d loaned her power, and when she’d pooped out, he’d tried to finish the job, until I got in the way To kill Peach, he would have had to go through me, and he didn’t want me dead

Yet

People didn’t start to coot there, and then all hell broke loose A crowd for what had happened, and none of us could say Well, I could, but I didn’t; I feigned aenuinely didn’t seem to remember The EMTs treated Peach and put her in the ambulance, and Nick ith her Ginny Boyle told o to the hospital with them, but I declined I had a tender spot on my shoulder, and my lip had split a bit on the lower left side, but aside from that, I was okay

Well, physically, I was okay Emotionally, I was a mess Furious, helpless, terrified Once the furor on the street died down, and I’d refused the uest rooo home alone, I went back into my house I walked upstairs to led up with the little crane, who perched on Gibson’s back, either dead or asleep I put er under the crane’s little paper feet, and it stirred, theninstantly on a name for him "Good Niles"

I walked him downstairs to my front door I put my hand on the doorknob and it took e to open it, but I did I went out onto ht now," and then pushed my hand up into the air Niles fleard, bounced off the ceiling of ht I didn’t know if I could even give hiht I didn’t know if he could find her I didn’t know if he had enough ic or life left in hi him out was all I could do, and so, it’s what I did

I stood there onto see through all the darkness I couldn’t, so I turned and went back inside to wait

Davina showed up a little before ht I heard the creak of her footsteps on the porch and met her at the door When I opened it, Niles flew inside and up the stairs to reconvene with Gibson inher heavy leather backpack on the floor

"Well, souy would not let ht of ht belohere my lip was split

"What happened?"

"Millie," I said

Davina pulled her hand back, her face awash in concern, but not surprise "Walnuts again?"

"He used her I don’t think she even knohat she’s doing He put the whammy on Peach and Nick; they were there for all of it, they don’t even remember" I stepped back from her and started to pace as I ranted "Peach is in the hospital, and so is Frankie Biggs What’s going to happen next? He’s going to kill soic, power?" I shook ht I don’t want it, I don’t need it, but most of all, I can’t win it" I took a deep breath "I want you to snakebite ic"

Davina’s eyes ide for a moment, and she slowly shook her head "Oh, no No, no I told you, that’s dangerous"

"I need this over Tonight, with MillieI couldn’t do anything I was useless And even if it was daytihts into bluebirds? Seriously, what use is that?" Tears welled in my eyes as my frustration and fear took over "I’m scared I want this over, now"

"Oh, baby" Davina patted me on the shoulder, but I winced at the tenderness there, and she pulled her hand back "Sorry"

"I need this, Davina I need you to take thistime, then slowly shook her head "I don’t even know if I can do it And even if I couldit killed Holly when Cain did it What if?" She trailed off, her eyes ith anxiety

"If it looks like it won’t ithout killing me, then we’ll stop," I said "But we can at least try, right? I ht?"

Davina sighed, and shrugged her allowance of the point "If you’re going to survive this, though, you have to be strong enough"