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death, if we have to So it’s safer thanin her stomach She didn’t understand Lupeready for a siege "Safe from ?"

Lupe looked surprised "From her-Maya," she said, as if it should be obvious

Hannah had a sinking feeling I should have known, she thought But all she said was, "So you think I’er from her"

Lupe’s eyebrows shot up She saidto try to kill you And she’s awfully

good at killing"

Especially ht But she was too tired to beto Lupe and Nilsson

and the rest of Thierry’s household, she fell asleep "that night as soon as her head touched the pillow

She woke up to see sunshine It was reflecting off the bedrooold Weird but beautiful, Hannah thought, looking dreamily around at ebony furniture and

decorative tribal masks Then she remembered where she was and ju on an elaborately carved chest She had just finished pulling them

on when Lupe knocked on the door

"Lupe, have they-"

Lupe shook her silvery-brown head "They haven’t found hi not to look too disappointed

Lupe h, you rinned "They’re sort of special people, and it’s a secret that they’re even here But I talked to theht, and they all decided that it would be okay They all want to meet you"

Hannah was curious "Special people? Are they hurinned even more widely "They’re both That’s why they’re special" As she talked, she was

leading Hannah downstairs and throughfornow, but serious "They saved my life and my mom’s life See, I’m not a purebred olf My

dad was human"

Hannah looked at her, startled

"Yeah And that’s against the laws of the Night World You can’t fall in love with a huht and killed my dad They would have killed ot us out of the city and hid us That’s why I’d do anything for him I wouldn’t

be alive if it wasn’t for him and Circle Daybreak"

She had paused by the door of a room located toward the back of the house Now, she opened the

door, gave Hannah a funny little nod and a wink, and said, "You go meet them I think you’ll like each

other You’re their type"

Hannah wasn’t sure what this meant She felt shy as she stepped over the threshold and looked around

the roo room, and more cozy, with furniture in warm ochers and burnt

siennas A breakfast buffet was set out on a long sideboard ood, but

Hannah didn’t have time to look at it As soon as she came in the roo at her

Young people All around her age Nor nu

Behind her, the door closed firmly Hannah felt e and

forgotten her lines

Then one of the girls sitting on an ottoman jumped up and ran to her "You’re Hana, aren’t you?" she said

warmly "Hannah Yes"

"I can’t believe I’ Thierry’s told us all about you" She put a

gentle hand on Hannah’s arm "Hannah, this is Circle Daybreak And my name is Thea Harman"

She was al over her shoulders was a few shades

darker than Hannah’s Her eyes were brown

and soft and somehoise

"Hi, Thea" Soirl "Lupe was telling me about Circle

Daybreak, but I didn’t exactly understand"

"It started as a sort of witch organization," Thea said "A witch circle But it’s not just for witches It’s for

humans and vampires and olves and shapeshifters and, well, anybody ants to help Night

People and hu Come and meet the others and we’ll try to explain"

A fewon a couch with a plate of eggs Benedict, being introduced

"This is James and Poppy," Thea said "James is a Redfern on his mother’s side-which lanced at Jaentle mischief

"I didn’t pick my parents Believe ht brown hair and

thoughtful gray eyes When he smiled it was impossible not to smile back

"Nobody would have picked your parents, Ja him She was very small, but

there was a kind of ile of copper curls and her eyes were

as green as emeralds Hannah found her elfin beauty just a little scary just a little inhu Hannah’s unspoken question

"I didn’t used to be," Poppy said "Ja"

"What’s a soulrinned at him They were

obviously in love

"You’re-soulmates?" Hannah spoke softly, wistfully

It was Thea who answered "That’s the thing, you see-soht People to find human

soulmates We witches think that it’s so it happen So time- maybe since the time when Thierry was born"

Now Hannah understood why Lupe had said she was Circle Daybreak’s type of people She was part

of this

"But-that’s wonderful," she said, speaking slowly and trying to gather her thoughts "I mean" She

couldn’t exactly explain why it was so wonderful, but she had a sense of so reached in the world, of so at her "I knohat you mean We think so, too" She turned and held out a hand to a

very tall boy with a sweet face, sandy hair, and hazel eyes "And this is my soulmate, Eric He’s human"

"Just barely," a boy fronored him and smiled at Hannah

"And this is Gillian and David," Thea said,around the circle "Gillian’s a distant cousin of ain"

Gillian was tiny, hite-blond hair that fit her head like a silky cap and deep violet eyes David had

dark hair, brown eyes, and a lean tanned face They both s on "And next comes Rashel and Quinn Rashel is human-she used to be a vampire

hunter"

"I still am But now I just hunt bad va

of respect for her She was tall and seemed to have perfect control of her body Her hair was black and

her eyes were a fierce and blazing green

"And Quinn’s a vampire," Thea said

Quinn was the boy who’d , with clean

features that were strongly chiseled but almost delicate His hair was as black as Rashel’s, and his eyes

were black, too He flashed Hannah a s

"Quinn’s the only one here who can cooes," Thea added "He was

made into a vampire back in the sixteen hundreds, by Hunter Redfern"

Quinn flashed another smile "Did you have a life in colonial America? Maybe we’vehihteen

"Is that why everybody here looks so young?" she asked "All the staff, I uys in suits Are they all vampires?"

Thea nodded "All row up if they want But once you -and you can’t make somebody over nineteen into a vae They just burn out"

Hannah felt an odd chill, al, a new voice

interrupted

"Speaking of the la to introduce me?"

Thea turned toward the"Sorry, Ash-but if you’re going to sleep over there, you can’t bla you" She looked at Hannah "This is another Redfern, a cousin of Jaeous, lanky and elegant, with ash-blond hair But what startled Hannah as he got up and

unhurriedly walked to meet her was his eyes

They were like Maya’s eyes, shifting color fro

that it was a ot Maya’s genes, Hannah thought He smiled at her, then sprawled on the loveseat

"We’re not all of Circle Daybreak, of course," Thea said "In fact, we’re some of the newest members

And we’re from all over the country-North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, everywhere But

Thierry called us together specially, to talk about the soul"

"That was last week, before he found out about you," copper-haired Poppy said "And before he ran

off But we’ve been talking without hiure out what to do next"

Hannah said, "Whatever it is, I’d like to help you"

They all looked pleased But Thea said, "You should think about it first We’re dangerous people to

know"

"We’re on everybody’s hit list," Rashel, the black-haired vaht World against us," Ash said, rolling his ever-changing eyes

"Against us You just said ’us’ " James turned on his cousin triuument "You admit you’re a part of us"

"I don’t have any

Ash looked at the ceiling, choice"

"But you do, Hannah," Thea interrupted She smiled at Hannah, but her soft brown eyes were serious

"You don’t have to be in any an But before she could finish, there was an explosion of noise from somewhere

outside